Wolff backs ADUO rethink as Honda's struggles push Alonso closer to F1 exit

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has backed a rethink of Formula 1’s Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities (ADUO) system, acknowledging that Honda “needs more” help to become competitive as Aston Martin’s engine partner — a situation serious enough to prompt FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem to personally intervene with Fernando Alonso ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix.

Honda’s 2026 power unit has been plagued by problems since the season began, arriving underpowered, overweight and unreliable after the Japanese manufacturer performed a late U-turn on its decision to leave F1 entirely. That reversal left Honda without sufficient time to properly prepare for the new power unit regulations, and the team qualified for the ADUO catch-up mechanism, which grants additional development and budget cap headroom. A first upgrade package agreed in May delivered only modest gains, with Alonso and team-mate Lance Stroll still struggling at the rear of the field.

The situation prompted Ben Sulayem to hold direct talks with Alonso in Madrid, amid suggestions the 43-year-old Spaniard was considering walking away from the sport. “There is no way we can allow Fernando Alonso, a great champion, to leave just because of the circumstances,” Ben Sulayem said. “That’s not the way to leave the stage. He has to be successful and then he leaves whenever he wants, not because he was forced to leave because of the performance.”

The FIA president added that he had told Alonso directly: “Please tell me what you want, because you are the driver. Come and tell me what you want us to do to improve these results.”

Wolff, whose Mercedes power unit is widely regarded as the benchmark in 2026, said he had no objection to the FIA’s intervention. “I think ADUO was designed as a catch-up mechanism and that formula was unlocked for Honda. And they need more,” he told Motorsport.com. “The conversation that the president had with Alonso is fair enough. We want to have all of these top constructors in the sport. We want them to be competitive and successful. Regs are regs for the best of the sport and sometimes maybe they need an adjustment.”

The ADUO framework was already facing scrutiny heading into the off-season. Critics have pointed to the anomaly of Mercedes — the apparent overall power unit leader — also qualifying for upgrade opportunities under the current criteria, while Red Bull-Ford Powertrains has been excluded from the mechanism entirely. That imbalance has fuelled calls for a structural overhaul of the system before the 2027 season.