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Lewis Hamilton accidentally caused chaos in the Formula 1 paddock in Monaco, as his comments about the ADUO ruling were the first time ‘several’ teams had heard about it.
Following the Monaco Grand Prix, the FIA are set to roll out the first ADUO – Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities – to manufacturers and teams. This grants further upgrades for 2026 and 2027, depending on how far down in power engines are from the benchmark.
The FIA have declared that Red Bull have the fastest engine and are thus prohibited from upgrades. The caveat is that only the internal combustion engine is taken into account for ADUO, with electrical power not being considered.
What are your thoughts on Mercedes being granted an engine upgrade through ADUO despite their 2026 dominance?
‘Several’ F1 teams learned about FIA’s ADUO ruling because Lewis Hamilton leaked it
Mercedes, despite winning every race thus far in 2026, are deemed to be 2% behind Red Bull and, alongside Ferrari, Audi and Honda, will be granted an additional upgrade for 2026 and 2027. Red Bull were stunned by the decision, as not every component is assessed for ADUO.
The manufacturers were well aware of the ADUO ruling, but as it turns out, ‘several’ teams were not. Hamilton leaked the FIA’s verdict at the Monaco GP, and this came as a shock to the paddock, as this was the first time anyone had heard of it.
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Journalist Scott Mitchell-Malm discussed the situation via The Race F1 Podcast: “To the point of how this emerged at the end of the Monaco weekend.
“What was quite funny, to be completely honest, is several teams only found out about the ADUO outcome because Lewis Hamilton had said it in the press conference.
“And we then stood that up with our sources and run a story on Sunday evening, because it was only the manufacturers that got informed about what the FIA was doing on the Sunday.
“The teams didn’t, because the teams aren’t manufacturers, so why would they get that initial assessment?
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“So I know there were people in teams that were discovering it on Sunday evening in Monaco, and that’s why it was such a surprise to people because they hadn’t had that information in advance, and when they got it, they were like, ‘Well how have they come to this solution?’
“So it is quite messy and I am very curious to see what the fallout is politically, what we see when it’s finally communicated and then in the coming days, maybe even weeks and months as people try to argue it or work it out.
“Because it’s not set in stone, like this is the only judgment now that happens over the rest of the year, it’s quite curious, quite curious situation overall.”
The issue surrounding ADUO will be a contentious topic, and it certainly does not benefit Red Bull, who are clearly struggling with the RB22’s overall package. What’s worse is that the FIA does not allow a formal challenge, so Red Bull are unlikely to achieve anything by protesting.
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