Mercedes has already sewn up the constructors’ title, but the engine order underneath it is where the ruling bites. Red Bull-Ford remains the sport’s benchmark power unit, with Mercedes 2 to 4 percent behind and Ferrari, Audi and Honda more than 4 percent off, according to the FIA’s opening review in the spring. Those gaps had shifted by the time the governing body closed the third review window, but not enough to open the door again.
The FIA confirmed on Tuesday that its final assessment of the season, covering races 12 through 18 and concluding after the United States Grand Prix, did not result in any additional homologation opportunities for the power unit manufacturers.
How the ADUO tokens were handed out
The Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities system was introduced alongside Formula 1’s overhauled 2026 power units as a safety valve for manufacturers who fell behind. Only the first evaluation, which ran from the season opener to the Canadian Grand Prix, produced any concessions.
Mercedes picked up one extra homologation for this year and one for 2027. Ferrari, Audi and Honda each received two for 2026 and two for 2027. Red Bull-Ford, sitting at the top of the FIA’s performance index, got nothing and did not need anything. Both the second review, which closed after the Hungarian Grand Prix, and the third window reported the same result: no further tokens.
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What is at stake behind Mercedes
Mercedes clinched a ninth constructors’ championship at Interlagos, with three rounds still on the calendar. The live contest now is for second, third and fourth, where tens of millions in prize money separate the finishing positions.
Ferrari leads that fight on 512 points, 97 clear of Red Bull on 415 and 114 ahead of McLaren on 398. Red Bull’s buffer over McLaren is just 17 points with a maximum of 129 still on offer.
The paradox is that engine pedigree does not translate neatly down the grid. McLaren runs the same Mercedes unit that is 2 to 4 percent off the pace on the FIA’s measure, yet is chasing a Red Bull team whose power unit leads the field. Ferrari, with a larger dyno deficit, sits above them both.
Tombazis: “the right concept”
Nikolas Tombazis, the FIA’s single-seater director, framed the decision as validation of the ADUO framework rather than a problem with convergence.
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“The first year of implementation has also reinforced our belief that the ADUO concept is the right one for Formula 1,” he said in the FIA statement carried by Crash.net.
The next ADUO window opens at the Bahrain Grand Prix and closes after the Miami Grand Prix, covering the first six races of 2027. Until then every team runs the specification they already have through Las Vegas on 21 November, Qatar on 29 November and Abu Dhabi on 6 December.
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