Red Bull fury over new engine rules triggers FIA review

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.

Max Verstappen, the four-time world champion, admitted in Barcelona on Thursday that his team were “a little surprised” by the governing body’s verdict, which was circulated to teams in Monaco last Sunday. That is an understatement given the shockwaves it sent through the paddock – and Red Bull in particular.

With Formula One introducing controversial new 50-50 electric-hybrid power units this season, ADUO was intended to provide an opportunity for those lagging behind to catch up to the “benchmark” engine. 

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 two per cent behind gets one upgrade this season and one next, while any manufacturer that is more than four 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 judged to have the benchmark unit by Formula One’s governing body based on tests run during the first part of the season.

Mercedes have been given one upgrade token, and Ferrari, Audi and Honda two upgrades, while Red Bull will not be allowed any additional upgrade opportunities.

“We were all a little bit surprised with that news,” Verstappen told the media during his FIA session in the Barcelona paddock on Thursday. “I guess that’s why we are talking to the FIA now to see what happened there and how they came to that conclusion. That’s what they are looking at. For us it was a surprise what came out. It is super impressive what [Red Bull Powertrains] have done. In that way we are proud but also confused at being portrayed as the best because we don’t feel like that.”

Red Bull’s reaction is what has delayed the FIA making its findings public. Motorsport’s governing body had been expected to release something official on Monday, the day after the Monaco race. Then a statement was expected on Tuesday. 

The FIA has now agreed to redo the tests, although a source at the governing body told Telegraph Sport that the expectation was that it would confirm its initial findings, and satisfy all parties that the figures were correct, rather than change the outcome. The process may take up to 10 days.

Other manufacturers may also have pushed back besides Red Bull. While Ferrari will be glad they have two upgrade tokens to use this year and next, the Scuderia – who intentionally produced a smaller, less powerful turbo than their rivals, to optimise packaging and aerodynamics at the expense of horsepower, knowing they would be able to claw back some of that horsepower during the season via ADUO – will be far from happy that Mercedes have the chance to improve what is clearly already a brilliant power unit.

In fact, it is almost certain that Mercedes have the best power unit overall whatever the FIA says. 

ADUO is based entirely on the power of the internal combustion engine (ICE), so does not take into account the harvesting and deployment elements, nor battery efficiency, that are so crucial to lap time. Mercedes’s chassis may be an underestimated element of their current dominance, but the power unit is clearly a major part of it.

There have even been suggestions that Mercedes have been purposefully sandbagging to hide their full potential. There was nothing to stop teams from trying to exploit the ADUO system by turning down their engines in the first part of the year – the FIA uses sensors to measure the power output of the ICE. A spokesperson for Mercedes insisted they had been maximising the power output from their ICE and had held nothing back.

Either way, and barring an unlikely about-turn from the FIA, Red Bull have been left as the benchmark unit in their debut season as a power unit manufacturer. 

It had been rumoured that might be the case since April, although Laurent Mekies, the Red Bull team principal, denied it before the Miami Grand Prix. 

“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.

Tied up in all this is the fact that the sport has agreed a two-step plan to change the hybrid engine ratio 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. Verstappen was so upset by the new engines he warned he would quit F1 if changes were not made.

The changes will be made by increasing the fuel flow to the ICE by five 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.

Verstappen said he was happy with the “direction” in which the sport was heading, if not the speed.

“It was nice to see that changes are being made for next year,” he said. “I would have hoped that next year will be what we are getting in 2028 but I also understand that sometimes there is politics involved for that. At least the changes are heading in the right direction, that’s a good thing.”

[Source: Daily Telegraph]