Red Bull best ICE in Formula 1: no engine upgrades allowed

The FIA has confirmed it: Red Bull Racing has the best ICE in Formula 1 right now, and that conclusion isn’t changing. The federation has completed its second ADUO measurement period, covering Monaco through Hungary, and the data tells the same story as after Canada. No significant shift. Red Bull stays at the top of the combustion engine rankings.

That means both Red Bull Racing and Racing Bulls are blocked from receiving any additional engine upgrades under the ADUO programme. For now, at least.

What is the ADUO system and why does Red Bull best ICE status matter?

ADUO stands for Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities. The system exists to help manufacturers who are falling behind on internal combustion engine performance catch up with the front-runners. If your ICE is lagging, you get extra development tokens. If it isn’t, you don’t.

Here’s how the current pecking order breaks down. Mercedes sits in the 2 to 4 percent deficit bracket, which earns them one extra upgrade in each of the next two seasons. Audi, Ferrari and Honda are all more than four percent behind and receive two extra upgrades this season plus two more the season after that.

Red Bull? They get nothing extra. Because according to the FIA, they don’t need it.

Red Bull best ICE Formula 1: a compliment that hurts

This is genuinely paradoxical. Red Bull has built a new power unit that outperforms engines from manufacturers with decades more experience. That’s an incredible achievement. But the reward for that achievement is being locked out of the very system designed to give teams room to develop.

Max Verstappen won’t be getting an upgraded engine anytime soon as a result. Red Bull pushed back on the first measurement after Canada, reportedly requesting multiple reviews from the FIA. The federation looked at the data again after the second measurement period and didn’t budge. The numbers are the numbers.

It’s worth understanding exactly what the FIA is and isn’t measuring here. The ADUO system focuses purely on the combustion engine, the ICE itself. It does not factor in the electric motor. That matters a lot, because the electric motor now contributes close to half of the total power output in a modern F1 car.

The electric motor loophole nobody is ignoring

Here’s the twist. Manufacturers who do receive ADUO upgrades aren’t restricted to spending them on the ICE. They can also apply those extra development tokens to the battery pack. So a manufacturer like Mercedes, already considered strong on the electrical side, gets bonus upgrades that they can pour straight into the part of the package that isn’t even being measured.

That’s a significant structural advantage. Red Bull is frozen on ICE upgrades while rivals develop both their combustion engines and their batteries with extra allocation. You can see why that stings.

According to reporting by Erik van Haren in De Telegraaf, Red Bull has pushed hard for a reassessment. The FIA’s position is clear: the second measurement period showed no meaningful change from the first. The conclusion stands.

What this means for the rest of the season

For Red Bull Racing and Racing Bulls, this is now a strategic reality they have to work around. No bonus tokens, no extra ICE development windows. What they have is what they race with.

For the other manufacturers, particularly Honda, Ferrari and Audi, the ADUO system gives them a genuine development runway. Two extra upgrades this season is a meaningful number. If those manufacturers can close the gap on the ICE while also improving their electrical systems, the performance landscape could look very different in the coming seasons.

The irony is real. Red Bull built the best ICE in Formula 1, and now they watch competitors get handed tools to catch up, while they stand still. It’s the kind of situation that makes the sport endlessly fascinating and occasionally maddening depending on which garage you’re standing in.

You can follow all official Formula 1 technical developments and regulations directly through the official F1 website as the season progresses.

Bottom line: Red Bull’s power unit is the benchmark right now. But in the strange logic of the ADUO programme, being the best means getting the least room to grow. Watch this space.