The FIA will redo its tests on Formula One’s power units in the face of Red Bull anger over the outcome of the first Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities (ADUO) period.
A source at the governing body told Telegraph Sport that the tests were intended to confirm initial findings, and satisfy all parties that the figures were correct, rather than change the outcome. The process may take up to 10 days.
ADUO was seen as crucial by Red Bull in the battle to catch up with Mercedes, with manufacturers given “upgrade tokens” depending on how far behind the “benchmark” unit they were.
The further a manufacturer was judged to be behind, the greater allowances it would get for spending and test-bench hours. A manufacturer deemed to be more than 2 per cent behind gets one upgrade this season and one next, while any manufacturer that is more than 4 per cent off the pace gets a maximum of two upgrades this year and two next.
However, despite the fact that Mercedes have won every race so far this season, and were presumed to have the most powerful engine on the grid, it was Red Bull who were adjudged to have the benchmark unit by Formula One’s governing body, based on tests run during the first part of the season.
A note was circulated to teams in Monaco last Sunday informing them of the outcome of the FIA’s analysis. Red Bull were deemed to be the benchmark, with Mercedes getting one upgrade token, and Ferrari, Audi and Honda two upgrades.
The FIA was expected to make its findings public on Monday, the day after the Monaco race. But Monday came and went. Then a statement was expected on Tuesday, but final confirmation was still not forthcoming.
Arriving in Barcelona on Thursday morning, what has become clear is that Red Bull are furious with the outcome and have pushed back to the extent that the FIA has said it is prepared to revisit its findings to satisfy all parties.
Other manufacturers may also have pushed back. Although Ferrari will be happy at least that they have two tokens, they will not be happy that Mercedes have the chance to upgrade their engine.
It is worth noting that ADUO is based entirely on the power of the internal combustion engine (ICE) element only, so does not take into account the harvesting and deployment elements, nor battery efficiency that are so critical to lap time. Mercedes may have a better chassis than anyone realises, or they may be more adept at deploying the software necessary to make the most of their power unit.
Either way, it seems Mercedes have done a brilliant job of gaming the system. There was nothing to stop teams from turning down their engines in the first part of the year to try to make the most of ADUO. The FIA uses sensors to measure the power output of the ICE. But they would be giving away performance in doing so.
In hindsight, it looks as though Ferrari prioritised their entire car design with ADUO in mind, producing a smaller, less powerful turbo to optimise packaging and aerodynamics at the expense of horsepower, knowing they would be able to claw some of that back during the season.
Mercedes, seeing that, throttled back just enough to stay ahead while allowing Red Bull to become the benchmark engine.
It had been rumoured that this was the case since at least April, although Laurent Mekies, the Red Bull team principal, denied it before Miami.
“What we see is certainly Mercedes, a long way ahead of most of us,” the Frenchman insisted, adding that Red Bull were “two to three tenths” adrift of the Brackley team.
It remains to be seen what teams and drivers say publicly on the matter. Mekies declined to comment on Sunday, beyond noting that the ADUO findings were only “provisional”. Sources insist the document circulated to teams was official.
Tied up in all this is the fact that the sport has agreed a two-step plan to change engine design in response to fierce criticism of this year’s new rules.
Drivers have complained that the near 50-50 split between internal combustion and electrical power this year and need for energy management has diminished the challenge in qualifying.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull’s four-time world champion, was so upset by the new engines he said he would quit F1 if changes were not made.
The engine suppliers have agreed to change the ratio to 60-40 in favour of the internal combustion engine by 2028 and will do so in two steps. The changes will be made by increasing the fuel-flow to the ICE by 5 per cent in 2027 (making the ratio 58-42 and 13 per cent in 2028 (60-40).
It took a long time for consensus to be reached, with Ferrari apparently concerned that it might affect their ability to capitalise on ADUO next year. It is understood the tokens will remain in place.