Ferrari will introduce its first ADUO engine upgrade at the Austrian Grand Prix, but power unit technical director Enrico Gualtieri played down talk of it being a gamechanger.
Formula 1 implemented the Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities [ADUO] this season as a catch-up mechanism for the sport’s power unit manufacturers in a bid to ensure a semblance of engine parity between the five PUMs.
Ferrari introduces first ADUO engine upgrade in Austria
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It, however, only covers the performance of the internal combustion engine, not the power unit’s performance as a whole.
The first round of ADUO saw Red Bull’s ICE emerge as the benchmark ahead of the one built by Mercedes. The latter’s ICE was more than 2 per cent behind the RBPT, with Mercedes receiving one upgrade opportunity.
Ferrari, Audi, and Honda each received two upgrade opportunities as their ICEs were more than 4 per cent down.
Ferrari has confirmed that it has used its first ADUO opportunity and will run the upgraded engine at the Austrian Grand Prix.
Gualtieri, though, tempered expectations that it could change the competitive picture.
“This update is not a major step, and it will not on its own change the competitive order,” he said.
“What it does show is the attitude of the team and our technical partners, to push continuously and to make the most of every opportunity to improve our package.
“In a championship as competitive as this one, it is unrealistic to expect a single update to transform the overall picture, especially under the current homologation and development constraints.
“Performance is built progressively, not only through hardware changes, but also through how effectively you optimise the package race by race.”
The Italian stressed that while Ferrari’s Red Bull Ring update is a minor one, it’s part of the team’s overall development plan.
“The entire team at the factory is now working relentlessly to make the most of the additional opportunities provided by the ADUO mechanism, in full alignment with our intended development roadmap,” he said.
“The update we are bringing to Spielberg is a relatively minor one, and it’s the result of the work completed in recent weeks to transfer improvements from our development program to the track.
“It epitomises key principles of our sport: continuous improvement, reacting quickly, and deploying gains at the earliest opportunity.”
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Although Gualtieri did not go into detail about Ferrari’s update for Austria, reports claim the team’s second ADUO opportunity, which will be introduced later this season, will focus on the turbocharger.
Ferrari’s F1 2026 power unit is believed to feature a smaller turbocharger than the ones used by its rivals. While that bolstered Ferrari’s starts, rivals caught up with the help of the FIA’s five-second blue light warning ahead of the start procedure.
Ferrari is expected to introduce a newly designed turbocharger with its second ADUO opportunity.
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