FIA review confirms Red Bull still holds F1's most powerful engine

The FIA has released the second-period findings of its Aduo review process, which assesses the performance gap between Formula 1 engine manufacturers. According to the governing body, Mercedes' power unit was found to be within a 2-4% window behind the strongest internal combustion engine on the grid, while Audi, Ferrari and Honda were all judged to be more than 4% behind. By implication, the most powerful engine currently belongs to Red Bull.

Development allowances for coming seasons

Based on this assessment, Mercedes will be permitted one additional engine upgrade in both 2026 and 2027, while Audi, Ferrari and Honda will each be allowed two extra upgrades in those seasons. Red Bull will not receive any such additional allowances, since its unit is already rated the strongest.

Notably, Red Bull's on-track form this year has not reflected that engine advantage — the team has failed to win any of the 12 races held so far, while Mercedes has taken eight victories. Red Bull built an entirely new engine design and manufacturing facility specifically to prepare a power unit for this year's regulation changes.

FIA's explanation

Nikolas Tombazis, the FIA's director of single-seaters, said the governing body carried out a thorough and exhaustive analysis as part of the Aduo review. He stated that the quality of the underlying data gives the FIA a high level of confidence in the robustness of its findings. Tombazis added that confidentiality and intellectual property belonging to the teams and their power unit manufacturers must be respected, which limits how much detail can be shared publicly. He noted that since this is the first year of the Aduo process, aspects of it may be refined over time through discussions with all power unit manufacturers.