FIA is the organization that makes the rules for Formula 1. They also check that teams follow the technical rules and can set up programs that let teams develop their cars in specific ways.
ADUO is an FIA program that lets teams who started off behind get extra opportunities to improve. It’s meant to prevent a big performance gap from forming and widening over time.
A catch-up program is basically a rules-based way to help the teams that are falling behind. Instead of letting the gap grow, it gives them a better chance to improve later.
Balance of performance is when race organizers tweak rules so cars end up closer in speed. Here, they’re saying this isn’t that kind of “equalizing,” but more about letting teams develop to catch up.
Red Bull Powertrains is Red Bull’s side of the business that develops the F1 engine system. In this segment, they’re talking about how it’s performing compared with other teams’ power units.
A V6 is an engine with six cylinders arranged in a V shape. It’s a way of describing the engine’s layout, and in racing it matters because different engine setups can behave differently.
ICE means internal combustion engine—an engine that makes power by burning fuel. In modern F1, it’s not the whole story because the car also has hybrid systems that affect performance.
In F1, a “power unit” is the whole energy system that powers the car. It includes the engine plus hybrid parts, so it’s more than just the fuel-burning engine.
The "chassis" is the car’s main structure and how it’s set up to handle. If the chassis is the problem, it means the car isn’t driving as smoothly or gripping as well as it should.
Racetracks are divided into sections called sectors. The "final sector" is the last part of the lap, and it helps explain where the car is fast or struggling right before the finish line.
They’re comparing it to a sports draft where weaker teams get a better starting position. The idea in F1 is similar: give teams that are behind a better chance to catch up.
An upgrade is a change to the car meant to make it faster or more competitive. The host is saying some teams are allowed to add improvements while others aren’t.
A V6 engine is a type of engine with six cylinders arranged in a V shape. In racing, the exact engine setup matters a lot because rules control what teams can develop.
That phrase means the hybrid parts that store electricity in the car. In F1, teams can sometimes improve those parts to gain performance and efficiency.
Aston Martin is used as an example of a team that isn’t doing well right now in F1. The hosts are saying you can tell from race results and how fast the cars are on track.
This is basically charts that show where one car is beating another on the track. Here they’re saying the gap shows up on the straight parts, which points back to power and acceleration.
“Period two” is the next stage of the engine rule programme after the first stage. The hosts are wondering how the testing and rules change in the later phase and how teams will react.
ICU is the car’s control electronics for the engine system. It helps manage how the engine and hybrid parts work together, and the discussion is about exploiting what gets checked under the rules.
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Hello everybody and welcome back to the P1 Podcast with Matt and Tommy.
So Tommy, we need to talk about this whole engine thing because it's quite shocking.
It's quite surprising what has dripped out to the public, right?
So essentially, how we understand this is that, well, the FIA, let's start from the beginning.
The FIA have this ADUO thing, which is basically gone.
You know the exact gone right now.
It's the Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities.
OK, you've definitely read that. I could see your eyes.
So essentially, it is a catch-up program.
It's not a balance of performance.
It's to try and help the manufacturers, the power unit developers
that have struggled at the beginning of this regulation set
to make sure there isn't a massive chasm when we go through the next months, the next years.
So the results haven't been announced to the public because they have fear of sounding bad these brands.
Which is crazy because they need to work out badly what they're doing with this
because if it's going to be such a pivotal moment in the Formula One season, they can't hide it.
But they want to hide it because the manufacturers want to hide it.
They are to a degree, right?
So what we know, let's get into what we know right now.
So Red Bull Powertrains have been deemed the best ICE, right?
So let's just clear this up right now.
Of course, it's a 55-45 split between the ICE and the batteries stuff, right?
The 55% is the internal combustion engine.
For some reason, the FIA are measuring just that.
Just the ICE, yeah.
Just the V6 because maybe they thought it was easier to judge it.
Or I don't know what the reasons are. It doesn't make any sense really.
No, because it's 45% of the entire thing you're doing is not involved.
And also, I would argue the 45% is the biggest problem for some of the teams.
It's not the thing that they've been doing for a very long time,
which is just the normal internal combustion engine to a lot of degree.
Yeah, definitely because an ICE, you know, back in the good old days when we just had a VA engine,
you saw midfielders getting podiums and things and being fine
because it's a very simple engine that everyone builds and everyone's quite close.
But let's be honest, when they start building these really complex power units and things,
that's when the field spread gets so massive
because all the battery and hybrid issues can be so varied by teams.
And that's the bit that they're not measuring here, which is insane to me.
And it feels to me like they don't actually have a method of measuring it.
And that's why they've committed to a more simple ICE test to be able to try and close the field.
But the problem here is that Red Bull have been deemed to have the best ICE.
So they get no upgrades, zilch until it's re-measured in period two of this whole thing.
So there's three periods before we then go into 2027.
So right now, they can't do anything.
They are fully stuck in place.
Then we have Mercedes who are allowed to have one upgrade this year and one upgrade next year.
So this is not just locked in for now, but this is what they're allowed to do.
So they Mercedes who have won every single Grand Prix this year
are allowed to upgrade their engine once and they've got an extra 3000000
haven't they, as well, to spend?
It's 3000000 to spend and 70 extra operational hours granted.
Good. Right.
And also, the thing with this that I find the most interesting is that there is a limit
in the sense of they can't just go, are we going to use this all for next year
if they've been allowed an upgrade for this year?
Now, they have to use it this year.
But when you think about Formula One, teams are always a season or two ahead anyway
in terms of their plans.
Mercedes don't need to upgrade this power unit for this year.
Not not at all.
They could be already looking for next season.
They can bring it for Abu Dhabi as far as I'm aware and how I understand this.
So for Mercedes to have an upgrade compared to Red Bull,
who have been nowhere near the win really for a lot of the Grand Prix,
of course, Max has had some star moments.
But realistically, come on, they are not on the same level as Mercedes
when you take into account the entire power unit after this.
It gets slightly more murky.
So when it comes to the results, which is essentially just paddock rumours
and then people feeding this information to us,
thank you so much to those people that are working very hard to to keep us in the know.
You have Audi, Honda and Ferrari.
And all we know is that they are allowed two upgrades this year and one next year.
At least.
But there is such a massive
array of things they could have, but that's not been confirmed.
So essentially, what we do know is that they have all been deemed to be at least
four percent behind, which means at least they get four point 11000000
dollars extra cash to just burn into their upgrade program and at least
100 and ten hours to work on it.
But that can go all the way to 11000000 dollars and 200 and
thirty hours if they're more than ten percent behind, i.e.
Aston Martin. Well, that was a bracket that was literally made for Aston Martin
and Honda, because they knew that they were going to be so behind and added it even more.
This whole situation, I think, is a massive farce.
And of course, you know, I'm sat here in a max of seven T-shirts, a Red Bull fan.
So I'm sure people are going, well, shock, but everyone knows in Formula One
and everyone in the paddock and everyone that works in Formula One knows
that Mercedes have the best power unit.
I do think the Red Bull have a very good power unit, has to be said.
And they've done a really good job with it.
I think it is the car that is letting Red Bull down at the moment.
It's, of course, with there's all this talk that they're overweight,
which I think is true.
And it's the chassis side of things that are letting Red Bull down.
But Mercedes, as you say, have won every single race so far.
Quite, you know, they've been very comfortable.
They've been an absolute rocket ship, particularly, you know, look at China
and how they just go through the kind of final sector and things like that
and how they are on the straits when we have that little track domination
graphic and stuff.
And it's always that they can just deploy and they're absolutely
unbelievable in that kind of part.
And yet there they now get a chance to catch up on themselves.
It's just it's ridiculous.
And I get why they've done this because they're kind of doing
it's a bit like the budget cap where they're trying their best to almost
have like an NFL style draft where in the theory, the teams get closer
together and they're trying their absolute best.
So it's not just like the same teams winning all the time.
But I don't think it's working personally because still seeing the
same teams dominating and now a team like Mercedes have even more money to spend.
Yes, they're allowed to bring an upgrade.
Rebel aren't and the thing is as well, they don't have to focus just
because this test is on the V6 engine.
It doesn't mean they have to focus on the V6 engine.
They can upgrade their battery side of things, which I imagine is probably
where they want to focus on anyway because of it being brand new as a full
system in 2026.
So that gives them flexibility as well to work on whatever they need to.
And the thing I find the most insane out of all of this is the privacy.
Because the entire season so far, let's take Ferrari, for example.
Hamilton has said almost every Grand Prix year we're behind on power.
Yeah, our engine's not good enough.
And I think most drivers, to be honest, if you're not in Mercedes have said,
yeah, look, we're just struggling from the power unit side, maybe apart from
Red Bull. And yet, even though this is public knowledge that they don't
have as good an engine as Mercedes, all of those manufacturers are like,
we don't want to tell the public, though, just how far behind we are,
because it's going to make us look silly.
But what do you mean? We all know you're slower.
So just tell us how much slower you are.
It doesn't matter.
I'm not going to watch this and go, oh, I'm not going to buy a Ferrari now.
They they don't know how to make the battery side of a Formula One car work.
So why would I buy a premium Ferrari?
Well, yeah, exactly.
They've done enough damage with their hideous electric car that they released.
They don't need to worry about the the PR on essentially being slightly
behind Mercedes in the Formula One power unit.
And at the end of the day, like it's a results based business,
we can see the results, we can see Aston Martin are struggling.
We can and see all this track dominance graphics.
We can see where you're slow and it's on the straights.
And what I find absolutely bizarre as well after Monaco is this narrative of
can Hamilton or can Hamilton catch Kimmy Antonelli in the world championship?
And now I'm saying you know, yeah, what do they know are Ferrari 10% behind?
Because if so, championship back on, we're going to win it all.
But actually, one thing I want to add on that is and you're absolutely right
in the whole ridiculous side of the manufacturers being embarrassed.
I'm sorry, but are you telling me that let's just take an example like Audi?
Are you telling me that a FIA document that gets released that realistically is
only going to be absorbed by the hard cause and the nerds like us that are
watching Formula One and involved in this kind of thing to say that their power unit is behind?
How is that more embarrassing and bad look on the manufacturers than say Audi's
position in the Constructors Championship?
Niko Holkenberg hasn't scored a point yet.
There are, you know, these things, the results, we can see them.
That Honda and how terrible it's gone with Aston Martin, that is so much more
damaging to the manufacturers than just some document that's going to hopefully
help them catch up.
I just don't, they're just so precious about it, aren't they?
It's just ridiculous.
They really are, but are we deep down actually surprised by this kind of
sort of route that they've gone down, because they'll always try and protect
brand image.
The only reason we know about the Mercedes one is because of the difference
in the amount of upgrades they can bring.
So otherwise, they probably wouldn't have said anything either.
But the fact is, we know that there's a discrepancy there.
So yeah, a very bizarre, strange situation, at least, you know, at least Ferrari's not top.
That's, you know, I'll take that one.
And I would be, I'd be flipping chairs and tables if, if Red Bull, if Ferrari
had been deemed the fastest ICE, then then we would have been fully cooked
for the rest of the season.
But yeah, anything more to add?
Other than just that, I think it kind of makes a mockery of the first one.
It's going to be fascinating to see how it continues as we get on into the season.
And yeah, how it changes for the next, like period two, as you say, and what,
what happens then?
Because if Mercedes get another one, they still won every race by then, I think
they're probably going to have to have a look at it, surely, because surely that,
that is a loophole there, that you could just dump all your upgrades and money
and opportunity into the side of it that isn't being checked by this.
And because 45% of your power unit, you just focus on that.
And then you go, ah, the ICU is not great.
Thank you very much.
Let's have some more money and upgrade time.
Yeah, because even though the whole testing method is completely secret,
the FIA are, you know, they're little detectives.
They are, they're not being played.
Oh wait, here's the results.
Red Bull are the fastest engine.
I think that the F1 teams have a good idea, maybe apart from Red Bull,
as to how they're testing, because yeah, that's surprising results to say the least.
And it'll be very interesting to see what period two brings,
which will be in another six races, I believe, or five races, six races.
Yes, I'm trying to work out when it would be, because obviously the,
the whole cancellations have kind of messed with everything a little bit.
But I will find out, hopefully, if I can find it.
Because who knows if that information is even there with whole secrecy.
Let's have a look.
Okay, so I've got to say the second period covers rounds six through 11,
which is Monaco to Hungary.
Okay, and then we'll get results probably soon, or not results,
drip fed information from, from there on, unless there's other agreements made between then
of how ridiculous it is that nobody knows the power of the, the engine.
But probably not, we will see.
That is it.
Okay, thank you everybody.
Hope you're up to speed.
We are kind of up to speed.
No one's fully up to speed.
That's just a formal one.
See you soon.
Goodbye.
About this episode
The hosts react to F1’s FIA ADUO engine catch-up programme, arguing it’s not balance of performance and that the testing focus on the V6/ICE (with a 55% split) misses hybrid-related performance. They question whether the rules can be gamed by targeting what isn’t measured, and they compare the concept to a budget cap and an NFL-style draft. While they cite Mercedes as the benchmark power unit, they say Red Bull’s fastest-engine result highlights how “period two” may change things.
As part of F1’s plan to level the playing field, the first stage of their Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities has arrived - essentially some decisions about which teams are allowed to bring additional upgrades. We’re here to explain these decisions, which are…. farcical.
Join us tomorrow for predictions!
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