Ferrari did not expect to reach Mercedes’ level in terms of engine power in 2026. Team principal Fred Vasseur acknowledged that the German power unit is still ahead and explained why the ADUO system was not enough to eliminate the gap.
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Mercedes has had the most powerful power unit since the new Formula 1 technical regulations came into effect this year. The Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities system, ADUO, created a chance for manufacturers who are at a disadvantage in this aspect to catch up. The assessment, however, specifically considers the internal combustion engine, and Red Bull was identified as the manufacturer with the most powerful unit.
For this reason, Mercedes received the right to one upgrade for 2026 and another for 2027, while Ferrari, Audi, and Honda were entitled to two upgrades in each of those years. Mercedes has not yet used its single 2026 upgrade, scheduled for October, while Ferrari’s developments, introduced in Austria and Monza, were not enough to catch their rival.
At Monza, the circuit most sensitive to power on the calendar, Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton qualified fourth and fifth, respectively. In the race, Leclerc’s result was even worse, as the Monegasque retired after an incident with his teammate at the start. In qualifying, Ferrari’s power unit was also 5.6 km/h slower than Mercedes in top speed, considering Oliver Bearman from Haas.
When asked about the performance of ADUO and whether energy management could influence the gap to Mercedes, Vasseur replied that “at least I was right about something,” after being reminded that he had previously stated Ferrari’s upgrade would not be a revolution.
“I don’t want to give details, but when you lack pure power, then you start playing with energy delivery to try to compensate on a straight. But if you deliver more in one place, you will certainly deliver less somewhere else and then you are entering a wrong spiral by trying to play with that when you are racing.”
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“Honestly, it’s not about energy delivery. I think the delivery was reasonable. Even McLaren was doing a bit of that on Friday and Saturday morning. In the end, we are losing pure power.”
Vasseur also explained that the difference caused by the lack of power can vary significantly depending on the circuit. “The reality of this is that if you are losing X at Zandvoort, you are two or three tenths behind. If you are losing X less, I’m using letters because you will try to extrapolate, if you are losing a little less than X at Monza, the difference to Mercedes is twice as big.”
“In the engine, the process is very long because the production deadline for parts is long and the cost cap is not easy. You need to produce the engine for the season. You are already a bit like that and, if you want to start development, you need to produce a new batch of engines, and it’s complicated. We did not expect to recover with ADUO 1 or ADUO 2. We are taking small steps, but what you need to keep in mind is that if you make a small step in the engine, even if it’s just a few horsepower, it’s a good step on the grid.”
At Monza, only 0.127 seconds separated Oscar Piastri, third place, from Kimi Antonelli, who finished seventh in Q3. For Vasseur, this shows the value of any power gain. “That means we will have a new engine next year. Certainly, the goal is to catch up, catch up as quickly as possible, but I did not expect that in two months we would recover the gap to Mercedes.”
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