Ferrari’s engine department is staring down Formula 1’s new power-unit era with a mixture of confidence and curiosity – and, if Enrico Gualtieri is to be believed, with very little fear that rivals will find clever loopholes in the FIA’s latest balancing act.
With the sport’s 2026 radically reworked hybrid regulations ushering in a new competitive landscape, the governing body has rolled out a safeguard designed to prevent any one manufacturer from running away with the field.
The mechanism is called Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities, or ADUO — and its mission is simple: if an engine supplier falls too far behind, it gets extra chances to catch up.
In theory, it’s Formula 1’s soft version of a balance of power. Naturally, the cynical whispers of the pitlane have already begun—could a team "sandbag" early on, intentionally underperforming to trigger these upgrades and steal a march later in the year?
A Robust Shield Against Gamesmanship
Gualtieri, Ferrari’s engine maestro, isn’t buying into the paranoia. While some fear the ADUO system could be gamed by clever engineers, the man leading the Scuderia’s power unit department believes the framework is tight enough to keep everyone honest.
“The ADUO mechanism, for being able to have additional upgrades and development opportunities during the season,” Gualtieri noted when assessing the landscape, quoted by PlanetF1.
“It’s a new process for everyone. It’s a new process for the FIA, it’s a new process for the power unit manufacturers. I feel that it’s quite well prescribed into the definition [of what is allowed].”
Despite the complexities of monitoring five different manufacturers – Ferrari, Mercedes, Red Bull Ford, Honda, and Audi – with vastly different architectures, Gualtieri trusts that the oversight will hold up under pressure.
“Obviously, we will take some time to get used to it, to the outcomes, but I think it’s robust enough to go on with what we think may be the final target of this mechanism,” he added.
“So for the moment, we are certainly comfortable with the process. Despite that, we obviously keep in touch with the FIA in case of any additional requirements. But for the moment, it is fine for us.”
Molecules and Sustainability: The New Fuel Frontier
While the ADUO system manages the politics of performance, the chemistry beneath the engine cover has undergone its own quiet revolution.
The 2026 units are thirstier than ever for fully sustainable biofuels, but Gualtieri explains that from an engineering standpoint, the "appetite" of the Ferrari V6 remains remarkably consistent.
©Mercedes
“In terms of the new fuel, so advanced sustainable fuel, we have to say that it’s not really a big change in terms of final composition of the fuel,” Gualtieri explained, stripping away the mystery of the new propellant.
“Finally, the fuel is supposed to be designed almost in the same way that it was before. Because finally, what it counts at the end of the story are the molecules and the properties that these molecules can, let’s say, achieve and deploy.”
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However, the real challenge for Ferrari and its partners hasn't been the combustion itself, but the ethical journey of the fuel before it ever reaches the tank.
“So the engine appetite doesn’t really change a lot, meaning that the fuel design is almost similar to what we were using before,” he continued.
“What is really the big change compared to the last season, at least, or the previous seasons in terms of fuel, is that now the fuel has to comply with restrictions in terms of supply chain, in terms of feed stocks, so in terms of original or raw materials from which the fuel has to start, just for the sustainability reasons.
“So this is an additional point on top of the performance and efficiency that we were always looking for from a fuel. And this is certainly something that changed the way that us and the fuel suppliers have got the exercise to define the proper fuel design at the end of the story.”
As F1’s brave new era kicks off, Ferrari seems confident that whether it’s the supply chain or the FIA's new rulebook, they have the precision to navigate the "razzmatazz" and keep the Prancing Horse among the front-runners.
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