Mercedes divided over FIA engine rankings as Russell and Antonelli react ahead of Barcelona

The fallout from the FIA’s first Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities (ADUO) assessment continues to ripple through the Formula One paddock, and Mercedes arrive at the Barcelona‑Catalunya Grand Prix with their two drivers offering strikingly different interpretations of the governing body’s engine findings.

During the Monaco Grand Prix weekend, it emerged that the FIA’s preliminary data placed Red Bull Ford Powertrains at the top of the internal combustion engine hierarchy, followed by Mercedes, Ferrari, Audi and Honda.

The result surprised many observers, given Mercedes’ dominant early‑season form and the widely held belief that the Brackley‑Brixworth package had set the benchmark for 2026.

Yet within Mercedes, the reaction has been anything but uniform.

George Russell, who sits third in the championship but has endured a run of misfortune in recent races, insisted that the FIA’s ranking aligned with what the manufacturers already understood about the combustion‑only evaluation.

“I wasn’t surprised because you know it all agreed with the manufacturers,” Russell said. “The ADUO is based on the combustion side of the power unit, we knew from Barcelona [testing], Red Bull seemingly had a really strong combustion engine.”

Russell argued that Mercedes’ recent performance surge has been driven primarily by the quality of the chassis rather than any perceived engine advantage.

“The performances we’ve shown recently as a team has just shown how strong our chassis is. It’s been so much talk around our engine… the engine is great, the chassis is incredible.”

His comments reflect a broader sentiment within the team that Mercedes’ competitive edge in the opening phase of 2026 has come from aerodynamic efficiency, tyre management and mechanical grip rather than outright power unit superiority.

Championship leader Andrea Kimi Antonelli, however, offered a contrasting view. The 19‑year‑old Italian, who leads Russell by 68 points after a blistering start to his rookie season, admitted he did not expect Red Bull to be ranked ahead of Mercedes.

“I think our PU is very strong, but for sure there were reasons behind it,” Antonelli said. “I am surprised by the results.”

While Russell emphasised the strength of the chassis, Antonelli focused on the long‑term implications of the ADUO system and the development opportunities it now grants Mercedes.

“The team now will need to start working on trying to see and find where we can gain even more performance. So, it’s a process that is not going to be short term, it’s going to be a long‑term process because still to find more performance on the engine takes time.”

He also praised the work already done by Mercedes High Performance Powertrains, stressing that the team is well‑placed to capitalise on the upgrade allowance.

“Definitely the team has done an incredible job already with the PU, and I’m sure they will put their maximum effort to try and extract even more performance now that we get this benefit.”