Revealed: The manufacturer that beat its F1 rivals to first ADUO engine upgrade

Audi beat its rivals to introducing the first F1 engine upgrade following the ADUO verdict, Crash.net has learned. 

The German manufacturer introduced a new power unit at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix, which came exactly one week after F1’s governing body the FIA informed teams about the results of the first Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities (ADUO) system. 

Red Bull was surprisingly deemed as having the best engine during the first ADUO period, despite a widespread consensus within the F1 paddock that Mercedes actually boasts the benchmark power unit. 

As a result of the FIA’s verdict, Red Bull is not eligible to benefit from any upgrades. Mercedes, Ferrari, Audi and Honda are all permitted concessions to develop their respective engines. 

ADUO has been introduced to the regulations for this season as a catch-up mechanism aimed at helping manufacturers lagging behind with their V6 engine performance. 

And Audi stole a march on its rivals by introducing its first ADUO development during the Barcelona weekend. 

Both Audi cars were fitted with new internal combustion engines and turbochargers, which was confirmed by the FIA’s power unit document released on Friday in Spain. 

However, it was not known at the time that Audi’s new V6 featured several tweaks. These were focused on drivability improvements, Crash.net understands. 

While it was never expected to bring a major performance increase, Audi’s early move demonstrates it has been working hard behind the scenes at Ingolstadt and Hinwil to make improvements, knowing very early on that it was playing catch up to its rivals. 

This is seen as simply being the first step in Audi’s wider development plan to improve its R26.

“For Audi it will be a significant benefit,” Audi boss Mattia Binotto said in Barcelona. “I think it's what we were expecting. 

“Since the very start of the season, we knew that most of our gap to the top teams was on the power unit side. Not a surprise to us. Hard work will be required. 

"We've got plans, but it will be beneficial, but not in the short term. Often maybe people may believe that once you've got ADUO, maybe the race after you may introduce 10 kilowatts. That's not what will happen. 

“In our case, we are looking for a big development, but more on the medium and long term. We are focusing our efforts more on the medium and the long term again, and the ADUO will be beneficial in that respect. 

“So ADUO means more budget cap, means more dyno hours, more freedom on development. But again, not everything sometimes is in the short term. Our journey is a long journey. We have set an objective by 2030.

“When it comes to car development, power unit development, especially the power units, it takes time to develop, longer than maybe some chassis parts. We will not see immediate benefits from the ADUO, but then it will be certainly beneficial for us.”

Ferrari is expected to bring its first engine upgrade to this weekend's Austrian Grand Prix.