Red Bull denied ADUO tokens as FIA measurements confirm Ford power unit leads the field

Red Bull-Ford Powertrains has been ranked first in Formula 1’s inaugural Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities (ADUO) assessment, effectively denying the Milton Keynes manufacturer any engine development tokens for the opening period — a result the team has strongly contested behind the scenes.

Although the second ADUO period officially closed after the Hungarian Grand Prix, the outcome of the first period has never been made public. During the Monaco race weekend, manufacturers were privately informed of the standings: Red Bull-Ford Powertrains sat at the top, meaning it qualified for no tokens. Mercedes High Performance Powertrains was awarded one development token, while Ferrari, Audi and Honda each received two upgrade opportunities.

The FIA had prepared a public announcement at the time of Monaco, but it was never released. Red Bull expressed significant dissatisfaction with the result, with CEO Oliver Mintzlaff personally becoming involved. The team’s only formal recourse was to request a factual review of the data — a process that, according to sources in the paddock, appears to have left the original outcome intact.

FIA single-seater director Nikolas Tombazis defended the methodology when asked about the situation. “I think our measurement, in my opinion, has proven to be very accurate,” he said. “With that said, has everything worked fine? No, because obviously people are not happy and so on. Do we need to think about improvements in the future? Yes, I would say so.”

Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies has been vocal in his scepticism, stating there was “not a single data point” supporting the conclusion that the Ford-badged power unit is the strongest on the grid. One acknowledged weakness in the current system is that only the internal combustion engine component is measured, even though the ADUO tokens themselves apply to the electrical side of the power unit as well. Tombazis has indicated he would be open to incorporating additional parameters — such as turbo sizing — but noted that teams and manufacturers had collectively pushed for simplicity when the framework was designed last year.

The broader feeling in the paddock is that established manufacturers such as Mercedes and Ferrari managed the assessment period strategically, not always deploying their full performance in the early race weekends and thereby securing tokens. Ferrari, in particular, is said to have navigated the process effectively in claiming two opportunities.

Red Bull’s attention now turns to the second ADUO period, whose results have yet to be formally assessed. Whether that assessment offers the team any development relief remains to be seen, but the FIA’s firm stance on the accuracy of its first-period measurements suggests the path to a different outcome will not be straightforward.