Red Bull and Mercedes are open to regulatory changes to reduce Aston Martin and Honda’s disadvantage in Formula 1, which is having a 2026 season well below expectations despite receiving all the engine upgrade benefits with the ADUO.
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The British team came into this year’s championship with high expectations. Besides the regulation turnaround, it would be the first car designed by Adrian Newey, as well as being powered by the Japanese manufacturer’s power units. However, nothing has gone as expected and after 14 rounds, it has only three points.
During the weekend in Madrid, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, FIA president, stated he was willing to help Aston Martin even to prevent a possible retirement of Fernando Alonso. And for Toto Wolff, Mercedes boss, and Laurent Mekies, from Red Bull, changes are possible for Honda to catch up in F1.
“The ADUO, in this case, was designed as a recovery mechanism, and this formula was made available to Honda, but they need more. And the conversation the president had with Alonso is quite fair. We want to have all these big manufacturers in the sport. We want them to be competitive and successful,” said Wolff to Sky Sports F1, speaking about how the upgrade system might undergo changes.
“And regulations are regulations for the good of the sport and sometimes may need adjustment; so, it was quite a fair conversation,” he continued.
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Meanwhile, Mekies pointed out that rule changes can be applied for the good of the sport. “Although we may not always agree, as a sport, we try to keep a fairly open view regarding regulations. You should remember that, in fact, there was a first change to the ADUO regulations earlier this year, precisely to help those who were far behind compared to what was initially voted on,” he said.
“All teams voted in favor of this, and we also voted in favor, for the good of the sport. As I said, we cannot agree on everything, but certainly, as stakeholders in the sport, if there is a situation that needs to be corrected or needs support, we usually find solutions.”
“And I am sure that, at some point, we will meet to discuss the future of the ADUO regulations. As for the gaps, we know some of them, and I am sure there are some that will need to be addressed later,” he concluded.
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