Mattia Binotto (the former Ferrari team principal now leading the Audi F1 project), who has been among those highlighting the disconnect between how the FIA measures performance and how the cars actually perform on track.
The short answer to your question is: The ADUO assessment is intentionally focused on the Internal Combustion Engine (ICE), but the upgrades it grants can be used on the entire Power Unit (PU), including electrical components.
Here is the breakdown of why this system is designed this way and why it feels contradictory.
1. Why ADUO Measures Only the ICE
The FIA calculates the “ICE Performance Index” using specific metrics: engine speed, input shaft torque, and MGU-K power output. Crucially, while they measure MGU-K power to establish the index, the performance deficit threshold (the 2% trigger) is calculated based on the combustion engine’s output alone.
The FIA and the manufacturers chose this for a few practical reasons:
- Ease of Measurement: It is relatively simple to objectively measure the torque and power output of an ICE on a standardized dyno or via fuel-flow telemetry.
- Avoiding “Sandbagging”: If the FIA measured total Power Unit output (ICE + MGU-K), teams could easily hide their true pace by deliberately mismanaging their energy deployment or “clipping” (harvesting energy) to look less powerful than they actually are, thereby “gaming” the system to unlock extra development tokens.
- Standardization: The MGU-K output is capped at 350kW for everyone. Because everyone is technically aiming for the same electrical ceiling, the FIA decided that the variable that truly separates the field is the proprietary thermal efficiency and combustion design of the ICE.
2. The “Loophole”: How Electrical Development Happens
While Binotto and others have argued that this ignores half the car’s performance, the regulations do not actually “freeze” the electrical side. Upgrades are Holistic: Once a manufacturer is deemed eligible for ADUO based on their ICE deficit, they receive “tokens” or financial headroom. They can apply these upgrades to any part of the Power Unit, including the MGU-K, the battery (Energy Store), the Control Electronics, and the energy management software. Development Cycles: The electrical side has its own evolutionary cycle separate from the ICE. Teams are permitted to refine their energy recovery and deployment software throughout the season and between years, provided they stay within the overall Power Unit cost cap.
3. The Core Conflict: Efficiency vs. Power
The reason this is causing frustration for teams like Audi (and Ferrari) is that a team can have a “perfect” ICE but still be slow because their energy management software is inefficient.
If Mercedes (or any benchmark team) has built an electrical system that deploys energy more intelligently across a full lap—avoiding “clipping” better than the competition—they gain a massive advantage that is not captured by the ADUO ICE index. Because the FIA’s current mechanism is blind to deployment efficiency, a team can be effectively “ahead” in total lap time while still qualifying for and receiving ADUO benefits, or conversely, be stuck behind because their deficit is “electrical” rather than “combustion” based.
Summary
- The Assessment: Is ICE-only to prevent teams from faking a performance deficit by manipulating battery deployment.
- The Remedy: Once triggered, the upgrades are unrestricted and can be applied to the MGU-K or electrical systems.
- The Problem: The current rules effectively ignore “deployment efficiency” as a performance metric, which is currently where the biggest gaps between the 2026 manufacturers are being found.
