Nikolas Tombazis has defended the FIA’s controversial ADUO system and rejected suggestions that Formula 1 power-unit manufacturers could deliberately hide their true engine performance in order to gain additional development opportunities. The FIA single-seater director has also responded indirectly to recent comments from Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff, who questioned whether Ferrari’s real power-unit deficit is as large as the official measurements suggest.
The effectiveness of ADUO – Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities – continues to divide senior figures in Formula 1. Introduced as part of the new 2026 technical regulations, the mechanism is designed to give manufacturers that fall sufficiently behind additional opportunities to develop and upgrade their power units. The debate has intensified, however, because of disagreements over how accurately the FIA’s measurements reflect the true competitive order.
Nikolas Tombazis defends FIA’s F1 ADUO measurements
Speaking to Motorsport.com, Nikolas Tombazis addressed both the current state of the ADUO system and the validity of the FIA’s measurements. He acknowledged that obtaining unanimous agreement between Formula 1’s different teams and power-unit manufacturers is virtually impossible given their competing interests.
The FIA accepts that the regulation may require further refinement to make it less controversial in future. However, the governing body continues to defend the measurement criteria currently used to monitor the performance of the internal combustion engines.
The system itself was introduced to prevent a manufacturer that starts the new regulatory cycle with a significant power deficit from remaining permanently disadvantaged. The wider 2026 F1 ADUO regulations provide additional development scope when the FIA determines that an engine manufacturer has fallen sufficiently far behind the benchmark.
FIA rejects claims teams could deliberately hide engine performance
One of the most controversial questions surrounding ADUO is whether a manufacturer could deliberately disguise the true performance of its internal combustion engine in order to fall within the deficit window required to unlock additional development opportunities.
Nikolas Tombazis firmly rejected that theory. From the FIA’s perspective, deliberately restricting engine output on track simply to obtain future development concessions would make little logical or competitive sense.
The reasoning is straightforward: development opportunities are ultimately intended to help a manufacturer reach or surpass the benchmark. Consistently operating below the available maximum performance simply to qualify for more upgrades would undermine the purpose of having those upgrades in the first place.
The debate is particularly significant because engine performance has become one of the defining technical subjects of the 2026 season. Mercedes-powered teams have been closely monitoring the progress made at Brixworth, with McLaren crediting Mercedes HPP’s power-unit work for an important performance step during the new regulatory cycle.
Tombazis comments follow Toto Wolff’s Ferrari engine assessment
Nikolas Tombazis’s position also represents an indirect response to recent remarks from Toto Wolff. The Mercedes team principal suggested that Ferrari’s power unit is actually much closer to the performance of Mercedes and Red Bull Powertrains than the official estimates have indicated.
Those comments added another layer to an already politically sensitive discussion. If the perceived competitive order differs significantly from the FIA’s measured results, questions inevitably arise over whether the ADUO system is identifying engine deficits correctly.
The FIA, however, remains confident in the quality of the data it has collected. While Nikolas Tombazis accepts that the mechanism itself can be improved, he does not believe that dissatisfaction with the outcome means the underlying measurements are fundamentally unreliable.
ADUO debate likely to continue as manufacturers develop 2026 engines
The controversy is unlikely to disappear as the season progresses. ADUO does not merely influence the current performance hierarchy; it can shape how much freedom individual manufacturers have to improve their power units during the regulatory cycle.
That makes every measurement politically sensitive. Manufacturers naturally want to ensure that rivals are not receiving an unjustified development advantage, while those classified behind the benchmark want sufficient freedom to close their deficits.
Mercedes is also continuing its broader technical development during the second half of the season, with the team having adjusted its 2026 development programme as another major W17 package takes shape. At the same time, Ferrari is continuing work on both its chassis and power-unit programme as it attempts to close the remaining performance gaps.
For Nikolas Tombazis, however, the central point remains clear. The FIA may refine ADUO to make the system less controversial and more effective in the future, but it does not accept the suggestion that manufacturers can simply manipulate their measured position by hiding their true engine performance. The governing body continues to stand behind the data on which its 2026 assessments have been based.
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