ADUO rankings after Canada: FIA reveals engine measurement process. Nikolas Tombazis explains how the FIA will calculate ADUO engine performance rankings.

Nikolas Tombazis has explained how and when the FIA will calculate the ADUO, revealing background details about the chosen formula.

After introducing the first changes to the regulations, the FIA is now preparing for the next major technical topic. We are entering the decisive month for the ADUO system, the mechanism used to allocate extra development opportunities for engine manufacturers that are struggling. Some teams have expressed concerns regarding the fairness of the formula being used, but Nikolas Tombazis reveals that it was the manufacturers themselves who opposed a more complex procedure. The FIA Single-Seater Director discussed the matter with the Italian press, explaining the process that will determine the ADUO ranking.

The procedure

The FIA’s task will be to create a ranking of the most performing engines, based on which development concessions will then be assigned. The calculation will be primarily based on power output, but with some specific adjustments. Nikolas Tombazis explains:

“Power is calculated in a lap-weighted way: where power is more relevant, typically at the beginning of a straight, it has more weight compared to where it is less important.”

The result, therefore, will not simply be a ranking based on peak engine power. Instead, what will matter are performance indices, taking into account how power evolves at different speeds, with particular attention paid to traction and acceleration out of corners.

Tombazis also revealed the data sources the FIA will use for its calculations:

“For each race we take the best car of each engine manufacturer, we collect data over many laps and we take the average. Therefore, we have a fairly reasonable statistical approach that we have discussed and shared with the teams. We also have far better sensors this year compared to previous seasons, so we believe the measurement can be quite accurate.”

As for timing, the first results will not come immediately, with Monaco being the earliest realistic reference point:

“We are still evaluating. We have at least one month until the first ADUO results tranche, so before that we will definitely have Miami and also Canada.”

No corrections to the system

As the allocation moment approaches, some team representatives have started expressing concerns about the FIA’s chosen formula. For example Ferrari, which opted for a smaller turbo, deliberately sacrificed peak power in favour of torque and drivability, considering it more beneficial for overall lap time performance.

In Ferrari’s case, the SF-26 also features a flap behind the exhaust outlet for aerodynamic reasons, but this partially restricts the free exit of exhaust gases, leading to an additional loss of engine power. Under the FIA’s current formula, ADUO could therefore grant extra development opportunities to engines that are not necessarily underperforming, but which have sacrificed peak power in favour of other performance areas.

Nikolas Tombazis responded to these objections, revealing that the FIA had tried to act in advance, but encountered resistance from the manufacturers themselves:

“It is clear that pure engine performance in terms of horsepower is influenced by several important but secondary parameters, such as plenum temperature, turbo, or even exhaust pressure. About a year ago, we offered the manufacturers a slightly more complex formula that would also take these parameters into account. They were quite categorical in saying that they did not want it, so at the moment we do not have corrections of this nature. The regulation is clear: engine power is taken into account.”