Red Bull are already planning to challenge the FIA’s ADUO ruling as Mercedes granted upgrades

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The F1 paddock has been left shocked by the FIA’s ruling on ADUO, as Red Bull have been declared to have the best engine. They are already planning to challenge the decision.

Lewis Hamilton leaked the ADUO ruling at the Monaco GP, and it has left everyone surprised. Despite winning every race in 2026 and dominating the grid, Mercedes have been placed second behind Red Bull in terms of engine power, thus granting them an upgrade.

Red Bull are prohibited from upgrades, despite the team only scoring two podiums thus far this season and reliability and overall power being a clear issue. Max Verstappen suffered a mechanical fault at the start in Monaco.

Red Bull to discuss changes to ADUO ruling as internal combustion is only considered

Toto Wolff was right about Red Bull’s engine, as he saw in pre-season that they had the most ‘complete’ package. It is a remarkable achievement, given the inexperience of Red Bull Powertrains, but the ADUO ruling is flawed.

The internal combustion engine is the only component ADUO takes into account. While it may be true that Red Bull have the best ICE, as reported by F1-Insider, it only makes up for 50% of the power output, which is set to become 60% in 2027.

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This has been subject to criticism in the paddock, as the likes of energy recuperation, battery performance and electrical power are not considered by the FIA. Therefore, discussions are ‘already underway’ about changing how ADUO is ruled.

Clearly, Red Bull do not have the package to compete with Mercedes, sitting on 72 points to their 244. While the Milton Keynes outfit show strength with the ICE, their Brackley rivals make up for it with electrical power.

READ MORE: All you need to know about Red Bull Racing from engine to Ford links

Red Bull are ‘stunned’ off the record about ADUO verdict

Red Bull have not said anything publicly on the ADUO ruling, but Sky Sports’ Craig Slater says the team are ‘stunned’ off the record.

He said on The F1 Show: “I saw Laurent Mekies on the plane, he was on the same flight back as me and he was heading straight to Milton Keynes.

“Now, they haven’t said anything publicly on the record about this. I think they are quite stunned to be honest, to be in this position, what I can gather.

If you were Toto Wolff, would you sign Max Verstappen to replace George Russell?

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“I mean, it’s an achievement and a half, and we’ve got to pay tribute to Christian and people like Ben Hodgkinson and Steve Broady and all those that came from Brixworth to build that power unit.

“But it’s not flattening the sporting landscape, or I can’t see how that is going to do it, because they need a bit of help, you think, Red Bull.

“And then, doesn’t help Max’s cause if we’re concerned about keeping him in F1, keeping him competitive. So, it’s a slightly strange one this.”