By Daniele Capri
The Italian Formula 1 team, Scuderia Ferrari, is understood to be awaiting official FIA approval to use the ADUO (Additional Design and Upgrade Opportunities), which would allow them to introduce a new power unit to close the gap to Mercedes’ engine.
Ferrari hopes that with ADUO approval, it can close the gap on Mercedes and jump back into the action in the constructors’ and drivers’ championship battles.
The Ferrari engine is assumed to be over 4% slower than Mercedes’ engine, which would allow two possible mid-season power unit upgrades, motorsport.com mentions in a recent scoop.
The Prancing Horse’s new power unit could debut as early as Austria, at the Red Bull Ring racing track.
What is the ADUO?
The ADUO is a system that allows manufacturers to perform upgrades to their power units.
The FIA will monitor each team’s internal combustion engine (ICE) performance from 2026 to 2030 to determine who is eligible for a possible power unit upgrade.
This rule was introduced recently with the 2026 regulations, which will allow teams to close the engine gap with rivals.
The ADUO comes into play when a power unit’s ICE is 2% or more behind the best engine in the performance index.
If the power unit’s ICE is below 4%, the eligible team will be granted two possible upgrades in the current season with the ADUO. In this case, Ferrari might be eligible once the FIA officially confirms.
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The three FIA monitoring periods
However, the FIA has put in place three monitoring periods.
The first period was covered during the first five races (excluding the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grand Prixs due to event cancellations).
The second monitoring period runs from the Monaco Grand Prix to the Hungarian Grand Prix.
The last monitoring period runs from the Netherlands Grand Prix to the Mexican Grand Prix.
Ferrari back in the battle thanks to ADUO?
Ferrari is currently 72 points behind Mercedes, as the Silver Arrows have been constantly winning and getting on the podium with both cars, except in the Canadian Grand Prix with Russel’s DNF.
However, Ferrari is the only team on the grid that has currently scored points with both cars in every race, helping them stay on the hunt with Mercedes.
The Italian team mainly suffers in the straights, as when putting on a lap, they lack speed and power, which is Mercedes’s strength this season.
Ferrari’s structural success
On the other hand, Ferrari has the best chassis, which allows them to be the fastest in low and slow-speed corners. This really helps them in qualifying, trying to get the best position possible for the race.
If Ferrari manages to introduce the new power unit in Austria, they need to hope that they don’t suffer in the straights like in the past races, so that they can give a challenge to Mercedes.
The Monaco Grand Prix will help Ferrari until they await the ADUO approval, as it’s a track with many low and slow-speed corners.
The Prancing Horse needs to take advantage of the Monaco Grand Prix, as it could be a chance to score big points, helping it minimise the gap to Mercedes until the new power unit arrives in Austria.
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Geoffrey H. Latayan 
SportJustSport writers 
Simon Wilkes