Overview
- Provisional ADUO rankings, circulated to teams after early-season races, identified Red Bull’s internal combustion engine as the benchmark and reportedly gave Audi the maximum two additional power‑unit upgrades for 2026.
- The ADUO system grants extra homologation updates, more dyno and testing hours, and scaled cost‑cap allowances to manufacturers judged behind on pure internal‑combustion kilowatt output.
- Red Bull formally challenged the provisional ordering and the FIA has launched a recheck of in‑car torque/kilowatt sensor data, leaving final upgrade entitlements unsettled while the analysis continues.
- Critics and analysts say the ADUO metric is too narrow because it measures only ICE kilowatts and excludes hybrid components like ERS and battery integration, making the system easy to game and open to debate.
- Audi’s Mattia Binotto says the allowance will help long‑term development rather than produce instant gains and has proposed a standings‑based alternative similar to chassis concessions; two further ADUO review windows are scheduled later in the season to confirm entitlements.