2026 Oracle Red Bull Racing F1 Team

[euv2]

With the way the system works, Mercedes can now devote extra resources and bench testing to improving its engine and not bring upgrades on track until it wants - thereby keeping Red Bull as the benchmark.

[https://the-race.com/formula-1/f1-shock ... sequences/]

This is another huge oversight, they could keep Red bull as the benchmark for over a year, and they'll do exactly that until their car performance is being matched, they'll do their best to wait until the 2nd update to bring max performance.

[Gillian]

Thank you AR3-GP. My mind is oficially blown.

[organic]

Who designed this system

[AR3-GP]

As has been pointed out on twitter, even more of a farce:

This is the issue now Mercedes don’t even need to spend their points on the ICE, they can just spend it all on the electrical side. So that when it comes to the next ADUO allocation, their ICE will still not be as powerful… granting them another 2%

They can put all the extra money and bench testing towards the hybrid system, and maintain ADUO status indefinitely (as long as the hybrid development doesn't plateau, which it shouldn't in the near term).

[Paa]

I guess RedBull and others agreed to this system, because they did not expect to be the benchmark from the start so they did not mind the unfair/illogical system.

If this was indeed the case, then it was really stupid/shortsighted from their part

[Badger]

I guess RedBull and others agreed to this system, because they did not expect to be the benchmark from the start so they did not mind the unfair/illogical system.

If this was indeed the case, then it was really stupid/shortsighted from their part

It’s unfair because the team that actually has the benchmark PU performance on track has qualified for ADUO, not because a newcomer is allegedly the benchmark. Not sure anyone could have foreseen the FIA’s secret measurements would result in this, because it defies logic.

[AR3-GP]

Per twitter:

I spoke with engine engineers from other teams, they are all shocked. They can’t believe Mercedes has been given the ADUO.

There must be a reckoning in Barcelona because most of the paddock knows that this is a joke.

[boiler]

I find it hilarious the FIA silo all of their series, they have all of the answers on the WEC side yet F1 continually screw up their rules evey step of the way.... Put the tq sensors in the cars dictate a max TQ like IMSA and WEC do and call it a day....

[pantherxxx]

So Red Bull Powertrains engineers will be just sitting there all day doing nothing, because they're not allowed to upgrade the engine at all? Who approved this bs? This is nonsense. Outrageous rules.

[gearboxtrouble]

They will be able to upgrade the engine for 27 even if there are no rules changes. This is only for in season development.

[Paa]

So Red Bull Powertrains engineers will be just sitting there all day doing nothing, because they're not allowed to upgrade the engine at all? Who approved this bs? This is nonsense. Outrageous rules.

Nah, they can still work on the engine within the limited resource allowance, just so they can introduce and validate their work in... 2028.

[Emag]

So Red Bull Powertrains engineers will be just sitting there all day doing nothing, because they're not allowed to upgrade the engine at all? Who approved this bs? This is nonsense. Outrageous rules.

Because it was written with the intention of not letting one manufacturer pull ahead like it happened in 2014 where the gap basically took 4 years to get nullified. The idea behind it is good, the execution maybe not so much.

The outrage is only happening because of this shock result where the RBPT turned out to be the ICE benchmark (according to the methodology FIA used to measure it). If it had been Mercedes, nobody would make a big fuss about it.

In any case, even if it was Mercedes, it seems like RBPT would have finished close enough to it in ICE power that it might not even have been granted ADUO regardless.

[Badger]

They will be able to upgrade the engine for 27 even if there are no rules changes. This is only for in season development.

Yeah, except now they have to catch an opponent who has more budget, more dyno time, and two extra homologations applicable to the entire engine in the next couple of years. Meanwhile RBPT is limited to upgrading certain parts of the ICE once and nothing more. Good luck with that.

[pantherxxx]

Well Red Bull Ford started with big disadvantage anyways, because they built their engine from a blank sheet of paper, and yet they made the strongest ICE. And at least in wind tunnel time Red Bull will get more than Mercedes + for the 2027 season they will be finally able to use the new wind tunnel, not the cold war era relic.

[gearboxtrouble]

They will be able to upgrade the engine for 27 even if there are no rules changes. This is only for in season development.

Yeah, except now they have to catch an opponent who has more budget, more dyno time, and two extra homologations applicable to the entire engine in the next couple of years. Meanwhile RBPT is limited to upgrading certain parts of the ICE once and nothing more. Good luck with that.

The homologation is extremely likely to be lifted because of the changes coming for 27 and certainly for 28 which will need pretty much every engine component to be modified.