(Motorsport-Total.com) – Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff would be “disappointed” if an FIA decision regarding ADUO were to influence the competitive order in Formula 1. In his view, only one manufacturer truly needs additional update opportunities.
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To prevent a repeat of the 2014 situation, the FIA has built a safety net into the current engine regulations: the so-called “Additional Design and Upgrade Opportunities”, or ADUO for short.
The original idea was to measure the pure performance of the internal combustion engine every six races. Manufacturers who are between two and four percent behind the best engine in the field receive an additional upgrade opportunity. If the deficit is more than four percent, two updates are provided.
The topic is being discussed during the April break between the FIA, teams, and engine manufacturers – both because of the timing, as the two races in the Middle East have been cancelled for now, and because of the question of which parties would be entitled to these benefits.
Wolff: Every decision can have “major implications”
Mercedes team boss Wolff has already commented on the second question, emphasizing that full transparency and precision on the part of the FIA are crucial. “The principle of ADUO was to help teams that are lagging behind in terms of power unit so they can catch up – but not to overtake others,” he stresses.
“And it must be absolutely clear that any decision about which team receives ADUO can have major implications for the performance hierarchy and the championship if it is not made with absolute precision, clarity, and transparency,” Wolff warns.
“It must be clear that tactical games have no place here. The FIA must act in the right spirit when applying ADUO,” he clarifies. According to Wolff, the main purpose of ADUO should be to help manufacturers in difficulty. In his view, this currently only applies to Honda.
“Of course, the teams have their own performance data. But as it looks to me, there is one engine manufacturer with a problem that we need to help. All others are pretty much in the same range,” emphasizes the Austrian.
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He therefore clarifies: “I would be very surprised and disappointed if ADUO decisions led to interventions in the current competitive order.”
Does Ferrari qualify for ADUO or not?
The focus is naturally on Ferrari, as the factory team – along with McLaren in Japan – has so far been considered Mercedes’ closest challenger. Team boss Frederic Vasseur has made no secret of the fact that ADUO could be an opportunity for Ferrari to further catch up on the engine side.
In Shanghai, Vasseur said: “The introduction of ADUO will be an opportunity for us to reduce the gap.” However, the question of whether such a performance deficit justifies ADUO is complicated by several factors.
Rivals argue that Ferrari itself has made certain strategic decisions, including the use of a smaller turbocharger. While this can bring advantages at the start, it could impair overall performance. This raises the question of whether or not this justifies ADUO.
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Wolff says he is not necessarily worried about this specific question, but emphasizes above all that ADUO should be used as it was originally intended. “I wouldn’t call it a concern. I think we are all watching closely how decisions are made,” he explains.
“We have precise data from our own analyses of where we see the engine performance of our competitors and ourselves,” he reveals, emphasizing: “In this regard, I assume that the FIA is looking at the same data, and I very much hope that they continue to protect the integrity of the sport.”
“Because you don’t want a team to be granted ADUO and then suddenly overtake others. The ADUO system was always intended as a catch-up mechanism and not as a means to overtake others.”
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