8 ways the FIA might have decided their F1 ADUO rankings for 2026

FIA, Sulayem, Wolff, socials — Photo: © IMAGO

ADUO

8 ways the FIA might have decided their F1 ADUO rankings for 2026

AgADUO. Is this anything?

Chris Deeley

Sunday 21 June 2026 13:55

MUCH ADUO ABOUT NOTHING!!

Now that we've got that out of the way...hey, how did the FIA decide who gets power unit upgrades for the next season and a half, anyway?

Red Bull appear absolutely baffled to have been told that their engine is the best on the grid, as they sit fourth in the constructors' championship with just a single podium finish to their name in 2026.

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To call the process 'shadowy' would make it sound much more sinister than it actually is, but we could probably compromise on 'infuriatingly vague' without getting too much pushback.

So, how did the FIA decide that Red Bull have made the best engine of 2026 and that Ferrari have made something in the same class as the washing machine motor that Honda have given Aston Martin? No idea. But we've pulled together a few things it could be...

How did the FIA decide on ADUO pecking order?

Flipping ten coins for each manufacturer, whoever has most heads has the best engine

Sorry Red Bull Powertrains, you were just deeply unlucky.

Vibes

Why not! More things should be judged on vibes rather than by nerds poring over film reel and their horrible little 'well, technically' nonsense. Score the best goal of the World Cup but you're a few inches offside? VAR stands for Vibes Assistant Review now, and you can keep the goal.

Decide that Mercedes' vibes are more deserving of an engine upgrade than Red Bull's? Lock it in.

Noticing that Mercedes power units keep failing

Absolutely nothing about Mercedes' battery issues should have anything to do with this (ADUO is supposed to be measured on performance of the internal combustion engine bit of the power unit, not the battery).

The rule book is long and tedious though. They might've forgotten.

They couldn't touch Red Bull in the Horner/Marko days, so it's revenge time

'They got them for cost cap stuff', 'actually the treatment of Red Bull by the FIA has been relatively in line with their treatment of other big teams'. Shut up, you aren't helping.

Alphabetical order, but it's an alphabet written by an alien and has letters like k'nerrschk and preeeeeeeeee and stuff

You can't prove they didn't actually do this one.

Whoever hands the most cash to MBS in an unmarked envelope gets to pick which rival team is 'best'

THIS IS A JOKE!!!! THIS IS NOT A SUGGESTION THAT THIS ACTUALLY HAPPENS OR THAT THE FIA PRESIDENT IS INSTITUTIONALLY CORRUPT!!!!

They made all the bosses of engine manufacturers run a 100m sprint at a private track and whoever finished last got no upgrades

Laurent Mekies absolutely can't admit that he lost a foot-race to Fred Vasseur. This would never, ever leak.

'Closest to the pin' style guessing game for how many laps Aston Martin would complete per race

Yes this is rife for Aston fixing it so that Honda get the maximum upgrade package, but...well, that's what happens in any sensible scenario anyway, so who cares?

Any other suggestions, as always, are more than welcome in the comments or on Twitter.

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