- Mercedes receives engine development tokens despite leading 2026 F1 championship.
- Red Bull’s combustion engine tops the FIA’s ADUO index, earning it no upgrades.
- Hamilton warns that closing Ferrari’s engine gap will take up to 10 months.
The FIA has ruled that Red Bull Powertrains holds the strongest internal combustion engine in Formula 1’s 2026 season, placing it above Mercedes in the sport’s new development framework despite Mercedes leading the championship standings.
The verdict comes under F1’s Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities system, known as ADUO. It governs in-season engine development under the 2026 to 2030 power unit regulations. Because Red Bull sits at the top of the ADUO index, it receives no development tokens at all.
Mercedes, by contrast, has been rated more than 2% behind Red Bull’s benchmark. That gap earns the Brackley squad one homologation token to use in 2026 and another to carry into 2027.
Ferrari sits further back still. The FIA has placed the Scuderia more than 4% adrift of the benchmark, which earns it two tokens for this year and two more for next season.
Two is the current maximum available under the system, meaning Ferrari and Honda, who are both believed to sit beyond that 4% mark, receive the same allocation despite likely sitting at different performance levels. Audi is also understood to be among the trailing manufacturers.
What ADUO measures, and what it does not
ADUO is a catch-up mechanism, not a performance equaliser. FIA single-seater director Nikolas Tombazis has been consistent on this point.
“It’s important to make clear that ADUO is not a kind of balance of performance mechanism,” he has said publicly.
The system measures only the combustion engine. Energy recovery, battery deployment and harvesting strategies fall entirely outside its criteria.
Performance is assessed using inputs such as engine speed, shaft torque and MGU-K power, weighted against how much each variable influences lap time.
The FIA has kept the precise methodology confidential. Its concern is that publishing the full formula would allow manufacturers to design their engines to score poorly and claim additional development allowances they do not genuinely need.
The gap between on-track results and engine rankings
Mercedes’ dominance this season appears to rest heavily on its energy recovery and deployment systems. Strip those away, and the combustion engine alone tells a different story, one that puts Red Bull ahead.
Lewis Hamilton revealed the order publicly after the Monaco Grand Prix, before the FIA issued an official statement. Speaking to Sky Sports F1, he laid it out plainly:
“I think the news came out either yesterday or today that Red Bull have the most powerful engine, Mercedes second, and then we’re behind.”
He added: “We’ve now got these tokens to try and develop and close the gap.” But Hamilton was careful not to overstate what the tokens could deliver quickly.
“That’s like an eight-to-10-month project, so it’s not something we can just do next week,” he told Sky Sports F1. “We’ll be pushing as hard as we can to see how we can close it out.”
A charged political backdrop
ADUO has sat at the centre of paddock tension for much of the season. Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has previously raised concerns that rivals could use what he called “gamesmanship” to manipulate their index scores and secure additional development room.
The FIA is required by regulation to publish its findings within 14 days of the Canadian Grand Prix. A formal announcement is expected shortly.
The headline result leaves a notable irony sitting at the top of the standings. Mercedes leads the championship but holds only the second-best engine rating in the sport. It has been handed development relief it may not have expected to need.
