‘Baffling’ F1 ADUO verdict questioned after Mercedes granted engine upgrade
The F1 ADUO verdict has caused shock and confusion.
The results of the FIA’s ADUO rankings have been described as “baffling” by Formula 1 commentator David Croft.
Lewis Hamilton let slip after the Monaco Grand Prix that Red Bull has been deemed to have the strongest engine in F1 this season and would therefore not be in line for Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities.
The news has left the F1 paddock in shock because Mercedes, who are widely perceived to have the strongest power unit following its dominant start to the campaign, has been granted upgrades along with Ferrari, Audi and Honda.
"How have we got to a situation where the team with the best, from the outside, power unit and chassis package put together, now get upgrade opportunities alongside the team that it's beating?” Croft told The F1 Show podcast.
"And the team that are struggling a little bit now suddenly has the best internal combustion engine and can't make those upgrades?
"If this is some sort of balance of performance, it's not exactly going to balance anything out. I don't understand why we've got this in Formula 1. We've never had a balance of performance in the past. I don't understand why we need it now.
"If at the end of the season you have such a stinker that you need to improve your power unit, fine, do it, give people some extra money to do that. But why are we in this position?”
Croft believes the situation could have been avoided altogether if power unit manufacturers were not restricted by the regulations.
"What I would prefer to have seen in the first - and maybe second - year of these current power units, to enable all the engine manufacturers to make a power unit that is reliable and is the best that they possibly can, is not put them under the cost cap restrictions,” he added.
"Let them spend and upgrade. Unfreeze the engine, don't have a cost cap, and let them get it right, because they are very complex pieces. And we've got, certainly in Audi and in Red Bull Powertrains, and to a certain extent Honda coming back, new people at the table.
"Make it simple. Because what's transpired is baffling.”
Red Bull left ‘stunned’ by decision
The FIA is yet to publish its findings, leading to speculation that Red Bull is considering challenging the verdict.
Sky Sports News reporter Craig Slater reported that Red Bull has been left “stunned” by the revelation.
"I saw Laurent Mekies on the plane, he was on the same flight back as me, and he was heading straight to Milton Keynes,” Slater said.
"They haven't said anything publicly on the record about this. They are quite stunned to be in this position, from what I can gather.
"I mean, it's an achievement and a half, and we've got to pay tribute to Christian Horner and people like Ben Hodgkinson and Steve Brodie and all those that came from Brixworth to build that power unit.
"But it's not flattening the sporting landscape. I can't see how that is going to do it, because they need a bit of help, Red Bull.
"And then it 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."
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