F1 News: Wolff sees Red Bull misery and praises the FIA for avoiding a 'political mess'

Toto Wolff

FIA piles on the agony for Red Bull but Toto Wolff explains why they got it right

Mercedes team boss backs ADUO ruling

Graham Shaw Consultant Editor

Digital sports specialist running global brands for 30 years

Monday 22 June 2026 12:57

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Those controversial new ADUO regulations have caused a fresh storm in the F1 paddock, and the fallout continues with Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff backing the FIA.

Additional and Development Upgrade Opportunities are designed to stop any engine manufacturer building a huge advantage when it comes to power units. The type of advantage which Wolff openly admits Mercedes once enjoyed.

The 54-year-old Austrian says ADUO ensures there is no runaway leader in the paddock in terms of power, but crucially stops short of the Draconian Balance of Performance employed in some other motorsport series.

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The new rule ranks all the power units in F1, and then gives teams upgrade opportunities during the season based on their rank. This left Red Bull fuming after they were deemed to have the best PU on the grid right now.

Even though Max Verstappen is no longer contending for wins, Red Bull must sit tight with no chances to improve its power unit. Meanwhile the dominant Mercedes car gets one upgrade while other manufacturers Ferrari, Audi, and Honda get two.

Verstappen and Red Bull get zero upgrade opportunities.

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Wolff says ADUO stops one team dominating for long

Wolff admits the new system was introduced to avoid a repeat of the dominance seen after the last major regulatory overhaul - one which put his own team out in front for several years. Between 2014 and 2016, Mercedes won 86 percent of F1 races.

“The system was designed as a safeguard to prevent what happened in 2014, when one engine manufacturer gained such a huge advantage that it translated into excessive testing miles and race results,” he told GPFans.

“We were fortunate to be on the right end of that at the time.”

Rosberg and Hamilton dominated between 2014 and 2016.

Balance of Performance is 'off limits' in F1

While Formula 1 has long used measures such as extra wind tunnel time and computer simulations for lower-ranked teams to keep the field close, Wolff is quick to reject any comparison between the new engine approach and a Balance of Performance (BoP).

In other championships - like the World Endurance Championship and GT3 racing – a BoP system is used to add weight or restrict engine performance.

“I get a rash even thinking about BoP,” he said. “It’s completely off limits in Formula 1 and creates a political quagmire in every other series.”

Wolff believes BoP can drive manufacturers away from motorsport, something he has seen happen in series such as DTM, GT racing, and at Le Mans.

“We must never be tempted to let anyone decide how a BoP should work. If there’s a mechanism that allows for fine-tuning to ensure no one gets an unfair advantage with their power unit, then that’s the right path to follow, especially since measures in aerodynamics were designed for an entirely different set of challenges.”

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