Binotto urges FIA to rethink ADUO after Mercedes upgrade allowance

Binotto questions ADUO’s direction

Audi Formula 1 boss Mattia Binotto has urged the FIA to rethink the ADUO power unit upgrade system after Mercedes was among the manufacturers granted scope for further engine development.

That has left Mercedes with room to conduct further work, while the Red Bull Ford Powertrains V6 was identified by the FIA as the benchmark and therefore locked out of extra improvements beyond the restricted homologation schedule. Red Bull has contested that outcome, but further FIA reviews have not altered the conclusion.

‘This wasn’t the original intent’

Speaking exclusively to Motorsport.com, Binotto argued that the system risks rewarding manufacturers whose true engine potential may not be fully visible on track.

“In my opinion, the limit has been that it has exclusively measured performance on the track. A car with an overall advantage can afford not to fully exploit the potential of its power unit,” Binotto said.

He added that Mercedes could, in theory, possess greater engine potential without needing to expose it fully if its car already held an overall advantage.

“If that were the case, it could have also gained additional development margin. That’s why I think the regulation needs to be rethought in this regard,” he said. “This wasn’t the original intent of the ADUO: the goal was to help those who were actually falling behind.”

Audi’s perspective on a safety net

Audi was one of the manufacturers for whom the ADUO concept carried clear importance, given concerns over the early performance of its first F1 power unit. Its engine has not matched its rivals, as expected, but has made a reasonable start. Honda, instead, is described as the manufacturer most in need of the FIA’s catch-up mechanism.

Binotto stressed he was not disputing the FIA’s work, noting that it has the tools and data needed for its assessments. His concern is with the framework itself.

“When it was first discussed, the concept was that of a sort of safety net,” he said, explaining that a manufacturer falling far behind at the start of a largely frozen regulatory cycle could otherwise carry that deficit for five years.

Under ADUO’s sliding scale, manufacturers receive upgrade tokens for every two percent their V6 is down on power. But because eligible manufacturers can then modify virtually the entire power unit, including hybrid components, Binotto’s criticism underlines a growing fear: the system may no longer be measuring what it was designed to fix.