The new Formula 1 season is proving to be full of talking points and political debates, even more than expected, especially when it comes to the power unit component, which is widely considered the real game changer of the new technical cycle.
Following discussions during the enforced break in April, the FIA, the teams, and the engine manufacturers reached a compromise regarding the management of energy and electrical power starting from the Miami Grand Prix. The goal is to limit the issues that emerged in the very early phase of the championship, where energy management factors often had a greater impact than driver talent and pure performance.
However, these solutions do not necessarily make life easier for engineers or for fans trying to understand the “new” Formula 1. On the contrary, they represent only the first step in a much larger engine battle, especially with the allocation of ADUO development tokens for 2026 and 2027 still being defined.
Hunting Mercedes?
This fight is expected to shift the competitive balance depending on the evaluation parameters set by the FIA, which focus mainly on the internal combustion engine rather than the electric component.
On this topic, suspicions of unfair practices have started to circulate within the paddock, with some engine manufacturers believed to have hidden part of their real potential in order to gain strategic advantages. In addition, there is another ADUO-related factor involving design choices for the thermal engine, such as Ferrari’s decision to bet on a smaller turbo in order to gain benefits, even at the expense of outright ICE power.
The ADUO system is intended to support manufacturers that are struggling, rather than those at the front. Interestingly, recent rumors suggest that the benchmark is not Mercedes, but Red Bull. This creates a rather unusual scenario, especially when considering Toto Wolff’s comments on the matter, where he argued that the ADUO system should be granted only to Honda, which is clearly struggling, and not to other manufacturers.
Mekies speaks
Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies has quickly dismissed the rumors about which engine is the best, convinced that such narratives are being used to influence FIA decision-making. He also believes that Mercedes still holds a significant advantage over the rest of the field, largely due to the internal combustion engine.
“The game of trying to rank everyone – he admitted – has been going on since the Bahrain tests, but we try not to get involved in it. The only thing we can see from the data is that Mercedes is clearly ahead. Ferrari and Audi are quite close to us. Extracting fair and accurate data on internal combustion engine performance across all teams is very difficult. I believe the results provide the most objective picture of everyone’s situation. Internally, however, we estimate that Mercedes’ margin is at least three tenths per lap.”
Leave a Reply