In the second ADUO period as well, the Red Bull-Ford engine is the most powerful on the F1 grid, meaning the manufacturer will still not receive any additional development
Red Bull continues to have the most powerful engine among Formula 1 manufacturers, according to the results of the second ADUO period, which covers all races from the season opener at the Australian Grand Prix through the Hungarian Grand Prix.
According to the FIA’s latest analysis, Mercedes trails by between two and four percent in terms of power, while Audi, Ferrari, and Honda lag by more than four percent. The Japanese manufacturer’s new powertrain, introduced at the Dutch Grand Prix, was not factored into this analysis.
After the first quarter of the season, Mercedes was granted one additional homologation each for 2026 and 2027, while Audi, Ferrari, and Honda each received two for this year and next. This includes a larger budget under the cost cap as well as additional bench tests. However, no official announcement had been made.
FIA Has Confidence in the Data
While the FIA confirmed the ADUO rankings this time, no additional development tokens were awarded. “The FIA has conducted thorough and comprehensive analyses as part of our ADUO review process,” said Nikolas Tombazis, FIA Director of Formula Sports.
Mercedes will be allowed one additional PU homologation in 2026 and another one in 2027. Audi, Ferrari, and Honda will be allowed two additional homologations in 2026 and two in 2027, based on the analysis of the first two periods.
The third ADUO review period will cover races… pic.twitter.com/Yw94JsOPrJ
— FIA (@fia) August 26, 2026
“With the release of the results from Period 2, we are confident that the analysis based on the quality of the data is extremely robust, which gives us great confidence in our results.”
“When sharing details from the results, we must also respect the confidentiality and intellectual property of the teams and their engine manufacturers,” he continues. “This is the first year of the ADUO system, so naturally there are areas that we will continue to refine over time in consultation with all PU manufacturers.”
ADUO Under Fire
The ADUO system has faced criticism, with one obvious drawback being that it only takes the internal combustion engine into account—which is not the sole factor determining performance in current F1 hybrid power units.
Mercedes—and not Red Bull-Ford—is widely regarded as the manufacturer with the most powerful engine. Even Silver Arrow team principal Toto Wolff acknowledged this, though he may have been careless when he made this remark, as he was not referring to the ADUO system.
Red Bull, in particular, was disappointed by its lack of success in the current standings and requested a review of the results after the Canadian Grand Prix, to no avail. “Toto is right. I also think they have the most powerful power unit,” said team principal Laurent Mekies after the race in Belgium.
“And they certainly had a significant advantage on the straights again this weekend. But this isn’t the first weekend. They have an advantage on the straights most weekends—and this weekend, due to the track characteristics, even a bit more.”
“The second phase ends in a week in Budapest. We’ll see what happens,” said Mekies.
Since Red Bull continues to lead the standings, it is expected that the ADUO system will be the subject of heated debate this coming weekend at the Italian Grand Prix.
