Red Bull hopes for F1 development lifeline as FIA’s new ADUO decision looms
Although the second ADUO period – the Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities in Formula 1 – already ended after the Hungarian Grand Prix, the results of the first period have still not officially been made public.
During the Monaco race weekend, however, all manufacturers were informed of the outcome behind the scenes, with Red Bull-Ford Powertrains surprisingly ranked at the top.
Despite the works team’s dominant start to the season, Mercedes High Performance Powertrains was awarded one development token, while Ferrari, Audi and Honda were all given two upgrade opportunities.
The FIA had also prepared the public announcement at that point, but it was never issued in the weeks that followed. The reason is that Red Bull expressed considerable dissatisfaction behind the scenes with the initial outcome, with CEO Oliver Mintzlaff even getting involved.
However, the new Milton Keynes-based manufacturer did not have many avenues available to challenge the result. Yes, the system has its weaknesses – only the internal combustion engine is measured, while the upgrade opportunities apply to the electrical side of the power unit as well – but there is nothing that can be done about that in the short term.
FIA single-seater director Nikolas Tombazis has explained to media including Motorsport.com that he was open to taking more parameters into account – such as the size of the turbo – but that the teams and manufacturers had pushed to keep the system as simple as possible last year.
Red Bull could therefore only request a factual review of the results. Team principal Laurent Mekies said that, in his view, there was “not a single data point” suggesting that Red Bull-Ford Powertrains has the best engine on the grid.
In reality, that factual check does not appear to have changed the outcome of the first period. It is no coincidence that Tombazis, when asked by Motorsport.com, said the FIA’s measurements had proved accurate.
“I think our measurement, in my opinion, has proven to be very accurate,” he said. “With that said, has everything worked fine? No, because obviously people are not happy and so on. Do we need to think about improvements in the future? Yes, I would say so.”
The feeling in the paddock is that manufacturers such as Mercedes and Ferrari played the game cleverly by not always showing their full hand during the opening race weekends, thereby securing an ADUO token.
Mercedes and Ferrari have played their cards cleverly, with Ferrari even managing to secure two ADUO tokens.
Photo by: Andy Hone/ LAT Images via Getty Images
Can FIA’s new ADUO assessment offer Red Bull a lifeline?
Red Bull’s hopes are now primarily pinned on the second period, which covered the races up to and including the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Based on the prescribed timeframe, the governing body should inform all manufacturers of the results ahead of the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, with an announcement expected this week or early next week.
Red Bull must hope that its internal combustion engine is no longer ranked as the best in that second assessment, which would allow it to receive a token after all and develop its power unit this year.
However, it is dependent on its rivals in that respect, who can effectively play a game of chess. If the other manufacturers do not use their tokens on the ICE and still have not shown their full hand at certain points, they could keep Red Bull at the top of the ranking for longer.
Tombazis, however, said heading into the summer break that he did not believe things would go that far.
“Well, I don’t think it would be convenient for you to always be below [your maximum power] just to keep getting more opportunities, because what’s the point of opportunities if it isn’t ultimately for you to be on top?”
To receive a token, Red Bull’s deficit to the best ICE on the grid during the second ADUO period must be assessed at more than 2%. If Red Bull remains at the top or if its deficit to the best ICE is deemed to be less than 2%, it will once again receive no upgrade opportunity.
In that scenario, Red Bull would have only one remaining hope of being allowed to modify its power unit this season: the third period, which ends after the United States Grand Prix in Austin.
Mekies and his team, however, hope to get that opportunity before then. If that happens, every manufacturer will have received at least one token in the first season under this year’s all-new regulations, with clarity on the matter expected before media day in Monza.
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
– The Motorsport.com Team
