Who qualifies for ADUO? Red Bull shares its F1 power unit pecking order

The Canadian Grand Prix is the final race that counts for the FIA’s first ADUO assessment period. The governing body initially planned to use four blocks of six race weekends, but revised the schedule after the cancellation of the Middle Eastern Grands Prix in April.

Any manufacturer that is between 2-4% behind the best internal combustion engine in the field will be granted one additional upgrade for the current season and one for the following season. In addition, its development budget allowance will increase by $3.0million.

If the deficit exceeds 4%, the number of permitted upgrades increases to two per season and the additional spending allowance rises to $4.65m.

Ahead of the FIA’s actual decision, the political game in the paddock is already in full swing. Toto Wolff has argued that ADUO should not become a “leapfrog mechanism” and that only one manufacturer (Honda) requires additional upgrade opportunities. Charles Leclerc added that Ferrari is even behind Red Bull Ford in terms of pure ICE power.

Those comments show that all teams attempt to position themselves as underdogs and have raised some eyebrows within the FIA, since its ADUO decisions are based entirely on data and public statements play no role in the process.

When Motorsport.com asked Laurent Mekies how closely he has followed all comments surrounding the Red Bull power unit and ADUO, the team boss laughed: “So, now you’re asking us to enter into the game? No, seriously, the way we look at it, I can only give you what we think is a pecking order. Do whatever you like with it.”

Laurent Mekies, Red Bull Racing Team Principal

Photo by: Brett Farmer / LAT Images via Getty Images

To begin with, Mekies stressed that it is already an achievement in itself that Red Bull Ford, as a newcomer, is at least in the mix.

“We think the guys at Red Bull Ford Powertrains have done an extraordinary job in getting us onto the grid in a position to fight, starting from what was effectively a field behind Red Bull Racing a few years ago. So that has been nothing short of phenomenal,” he said.

Red Bull in the same group as Ferrari and Audi?

That said, Mekies does not place Red Bull's ICE at the top of the team's own power unit pecking order.

“Now, the next second, you look at your gap to the best competition. And today we think the pecking order is Mercedes, in terms of the powertrain, ahead of the field. And that means eight cars, so it is very significant,” Mekies explained.

“We think behind them there is a group where we see us, Ferrari, Audi — don’t ask me to quote the numbers because it will be gaming — but we certainly see a consistent gap compared to the Mercedes-Benz-powered cars.”

Red Bull believes the gap to Mercedes is greater than 2%, which would mean that the entire group Mekies refers to would qualify for ADUO.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Sutton Images via Getty Images

However, it is up to the FIA to determine the actual gap and the consequences of that.

Ford Performance director Mark Rushbrook has indicated that the picture based on Red Bull’s data also depends on the conditions. He urged the FIA to take that into account, but single-seater director Nikolas Tombazis explained that, following discussions with all teams and manufacturers, the procedure has deliberately been kept as simple as possible: look purely at the data without applying what the FIA calls a “correction methodology”.

Mekies does agree with Wolff that Honda is most in need of concessions, although the Japanese manufacturer itself was not willing to speculate about it on Thursday.

“It’s probably fair to say that we read Honda further back,” Mekies admitted. “How is that going to fit any of the grid and the calculation that the FIA is trying to do? We will soon find out.”

The FIA has stated that it will provide clarity no later than two weeks after the Canadian Grand Prix, meaning a decision should be known before F1 arrives in Monaco to start the European leg of the season.