Red Bull is working with the FIA on how to tweak Formula 1’s Additional Development and Upgrades Opportunities system after its contentious findings, says team boss Laurent Mekies.
ADUO is new for 2026 and measures the V6 engine performance of all power units at the end of each quarter, handing at least one upgrade token to manufacturers lagging behind.
But it was initially assumed that Mercedes would be deemed as F1’s benchmark due to its dominant start to the new regulations, yet instead the system claims it is Red Bull.
That is because it only considers the internal combustion engine, which is not the only performance differentiator in the current hybrids, with Mercedes excelling across the board.
So there have been discussions about tweaking the system for 2027 – FIA single-seater director Nikolas Tombazis confirmed there are “weaknesses” – which Red Bull is very keen on.
“We were surprised and a bit more than that at the initial evaluations from the FIA,” said Mekies.
“We made our case. We showed them why we felt it was not capturing the right picture. We are having discussions with them on what can be improved in the methodologies for next year with them.
Laurent Mekies, Red Bull Racing Team Principal
Photo by: Ashwith S Pai
“That’s where we are. Then at some stage, we like to say in Red Bull Racing we like to reduce the noise and concentrate on pure racing. So at some stage, you concentrate on yourself and you keep pushing with what you have.
“Ultimately, we prefer to be in a position to have a strong engine and no ADUO rather than a weak engine and claiming the ADUO.”
Under the latest results Mercedes has been granted one token for being 2-4% down on power, Ferrari, Audi and Honda all have two for being over 4%, whereas Red Bull does not have any.
But that doesn’t mean there are simply zero ways for Red Bull to improve, especially when this season has seen a gradual upturn in form with relentless upgrades on the RB22.
“Whilst ADUO is trying to somehow estimate the peak power of the ICE, there is a huge number of other performance factors that can be developed and improved,” Mekies added.
“Especially in the first year for us as a power unit manufacturer. So, of course, the guys have been doing huge jobs at developing the package for drivers, operating windows.
“There is huge development work in the background, even though you cannot change the hardware. I guess it’s especially true for us in our very first year of operation.”
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, Laurent Mekies, Red Bull Racing Team Principal
Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Sutton Images via Getty Images
The latest major upgrade package Red Bull introduced was for September’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix, where Max Verstappen finished runner-up and within a second of Mercedes’ George Russell.
That was his fifth podium in six grands prix and, just a week later in Malaysia, the world champion took his first victory of 2026, having claimed one podium in the opening five rounds.
“What I take from the Baku upgrade is not so much what it unlocks,” said Mekies. “I don’t think there was anything too specific about that upgrade compared to our previous ones.
“What I take from that one is that once again, this team has been able to produce an incredible season development.
“We started on the back foot. But equally, nobody was going to wait for us, and starting from that more than one second [deficit] and being where we are now, I think it’s very much a Red Bull Racing trademark to have this strong in-season development.
“At some stage, we felt there would be a possibility that we get stuck into that three-tenths mark compared to the best cars.
“In the end, the guys have been doing a job at 360 [degrees], our chassis side, PU side, to eat up those last three-tenths, which we felt would be the most difficult.
“The Baku upgrade played a role with that, but it’s part of a more global effort from everyone – chassis side, PU side – to extract more.”
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