Mercedes chief Toto Wolff has urged the FIA to ensure rules permitting power unit manufacturers to develop engines during the 2026 season do not disrupt Formula 1’s current pecking order.
The 2026 power unit regulations include a performance-balancing measure that grants Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities (ADUO) during three periods of the season. Any manufacturer judged to be at least two per cent behind the best-performing internal combustion engine can be awarded development chances.
The FIA is expected to clarify how the rules will be applied ahead of the Miami Grand Prix (May 1-3). Mercedes go into that event having won each of the first three races and sit clearly atop the standings, making their in-house engine the likely benchmark for any catch-up efforts.
Wolff said the ADUO “was to allow teams that were on the back foot in terms of the power unit to catch up, but not to leapfrog.” He warned that decisions on ADUO must be made with “absolute precision and clarity and transparency,” stressing that “gamesmanship hasn’t got any place here” and that the FIA must act in the right spirit.
He suggested Honda — which supplies only Aston Martin — appears to be the manufacturer in need of assistance, while others are “pretty much in the same ballpark.” Wolff added he would be “very surprised, actually, and disappointed if ADUO decisions…would come up with any interferences into the competitive pecking order as it stands at the moment.”
Mercedes is a works team and supplies power units to three customers: McLaren, Alpine and Williams. Ferrari is also a works operation and supplies Haas and Cadillac. Red Bull built its own engine for 2026 and supplies junior squad Racing Bulls, while Audi remains a works team without customers.
Ferrari team boss Fred Vasseur has said ADUO could be an opportunity for the Italian squad to “close the gap” to Mercedes. Asked if he was worried Ferrari could leap ahead if granted ADUO, Wolff replied he wasn’t worried but noted teams are monitoring how decisions are made and that Mercedes has precise analytics on competitor engine performance. “The FIA… I would very much hope that they continue to see themselves as protecting the integrity of the sport,” he said, reiterating that ADUO should be a catch-up mechanism, not one that enables leapfrogging.