Red Bull’s FIA engine questions set to fail as ADUO verdict stands firm

Red Bull’s questioning of the FIA’s ADUO outcome is not expected to result in any changes, with the formal findings likely to be communicated following the British Grand Prix.

While the five power unit manufacturers were informed of the FIA’s findings on the Sunday of the Monaco Grand Prix, the benchmarking is yet to be formally communicated to the public.

Red Bull Powertrains’ ADUO challenge explained after FIA benchmarking

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In the document issued to the power unit manufacturers communicating the ADUO allowances, the Red Bull Powertrains DM01 was revealed to be the standard-setter, based on the metrics of performance indexation used by the governing body.

These metrics concentrate solely on the internal combustion engine side of the power unit, with the electrical ancillaries and collective performance as a package not considered relevant for the purposes of this indexation.

The findings mean that Red Bull Powertrains does not qualify for an homologation upgrade, while all the other PUMs have qualified for at least one.

These upgrade opportunities are awarded on the basis of how far off, as a percentage, each engine is from the standard-setting unit. With Red Bull’s ICE serving as the benchmark, Mercedes being awarded one upgrade means its combustion engine is between two and four per cent off Red Bull’s performance, while Ferrari, Honda, and Audi are each at least four per cent off.

With the FIA document merely stating how many upgrade opportunities are being awarded to each PUM, the exact percentage deficits are not known.

What’s also not known is the exact nature by which the FIA judges the performance metrics of the engine, although FIA F1 Doc 096 does detail a methodology: it’s worth noting that there are a finite number of ways by which a combustion engine’s performance can be rated, and the methodology would give the PUMs an indication as to aspects the FIA would use to form its performance index.

Following the ADUO document’s issuance to the PUMs a month ago, Red Bull is understood to have been dismayed by the findings: with the engine being judged the best on the grid, it cannot introduce any homologation upgrades as others do.

Upgrades are not limited to any particular part of the power unit: while the benchmarking is done on the ICE side, a permitted upgrade can be introduced to any side of the power unit. Defined under Appendix C4 of the technical regulations, a permitted homologation upgrade can be significant and, contrary to earlier understanding, apply to an entire area of the power unit, rather than a mere line item.

For example, a permitted upgrade could be introduced on the MGU-K – the motor unit itself is one line item but, in tandem with this, the other seven line items alongside the MGU-K in the relevant section of the appendix: the mechanical power transmission components, torque and field sensors, phase conductors, and other electrical ancillaries that form its integration with the power unit, can also be upgraded as ‘one’.

The significance of these upgrade opportunities is believed to have been factored into some power unit manufacturers’ development strategies for the season: Ferrari and Audi each had an updated homologation ready to go at the first opportunity, work which would have taken months of development that would not have been undertaken without certainty of being granted an ADUO allocation, given the impact of the power unit budget cap.

With Red Bull known to have questioned the FIA’s findings and having sought clarification from the governing body to, effectively, ‘explain its work’, it’s understood that the data presented by the Milton Keynes-based manufacturer has not been compelling and has not given the FIA any reason to change the outcome.

As the findings communicated to the PUMs were never regarded as ‘provisional’, the matter is expected to come to a close in the coming days, despite Red Bull’s best efforts.

Red Bull’s senior management and shareholders are understood to have attended the British Grand Prix to meet with FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem to discuss the matter further, with Mark Mateschitz and Oliver Mintzlaff said to have sought to engage the governing body on the matter following unsuccessful negotiations led by Laurent Mekies in a bid to change the outcome.

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With Ferrari and Mercedes being able to factor in ADUO opportunities, ensuring that their internal combustion engines could not be found as the benchmark, sources have suggested this was effectively done by ‘gaming’ the ADUO system – perhaps by sacrificing a small amount of outright performance by way of software maps.

The implication of the findings is that Red Bull’s dismay is not simply down to having missed out on a potential upgrade opportunity, but having been outmanoeuvred by several of its power unit manufacturer rivals in the earliest stages of the ADUO safety net: potentially putting them months behind its rivals, particularly given that PUMs are not obligated to use all of their permitted upgrades immediately.

Added to that are the vagaries of the measurement being done on the internal combustion engine: given that upgrades are not restricted to this area of the engine, there are no guarantees that the RBPT ICE will drop away from being the benchmark any time soon.

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