The FIA is ready to offer Red Bull a detailed explanation of how it has been judged to have Formula 1’s benchmark engine, but the results of the first ADUO analysis are not expected to change.
Red Bull has been in talks with the FIA to try to get a better understanding of why the governing body’s review of F1 power unit rankings ended up with it at the top of the pack - a step above race-winners Mercedes and Ferrari. That means Red Bull will not be allowed any upgrades under the new Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities system.
Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies said at the Barcelona Grand Prix that all the data it had gathered over the early races showed that championship leader Mercedes was a step ahead in engine performance.
“Where we certainly would like to have a deeper conversation is because we do not see one single data sample that indicates that we would have an advantage over our friends at Mercedes,” he said.
The FIA's ADUO ranking is made taking into account the internal combustion engine only, with the powerful battery and regeneration capabilities not included in this system.
In the wake of Red Bull’s demands for answers over the ADUO findings, the FIA agreed to review all the data that it had gathered over the first judgement period, which ran until the Canadian GP in late May.
The Race understands that the review is now nearing its conclusion but there is no indication that the FIA’s initial findings, of Red Bull being at least 2% clear of Mercedes, were incorrect.
It means the result is set to remain as was officially declared by the FIA in signed correspondence that was sent to teams on race day at the Monaco GP three weeks ago.
While some final points are still being discussed with Red Bull, it is anticipated that the FIA will officially announce the ADUO findings at some point before the Belgian Grand Prix next month.
Prior to that, sources have suggested that the FIA is willing to be open with Red Bull and offer it a detailed explanation of the data it gathered and the reasons for its decisions – even if some of its information relating to the performance of other power unit manufacturers cannot be revealed because of confidentiality reasons.
With the FIA looking unlikely to change its ADUO verdict, Red Bull is going to have to face up to the prospect that it is going to be the only engine manufacturer that will be unable to upgrade its power unit for now.
Ferrari has used ADUO to introduce its first performance step of the season at this weekend’s Austrian GP, while Audi is understood to have delivered driveability improvements at Barcelona.
Honda is looking to use one of its upgrade opportunities this year with an upgrade that will come around the summer break but could arrive as early as the Belgian GP.
Red Bull’s hopes of qualifying for ADUO during the second review period, which runs from Monaco until the Hungarian GP during before the summer break, will rest on whether Mercedes makes any performance steps with its internal combustion engine.
If Mercedes elects to stand still, or develop other parts of its power unit, then Red Bull could find itself trapped with the best ICE yet again, which would mean another spell of being unable to bring significant upgrades.
from The Race https://ift.tt/WMk9TjP
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