Ferrari is preparing its ADUO 2 engine upgrade for Monza as the Scuderia looks to further reduce its power-unit deficit to Mercedes, but Toto Wolff has questioned whether the gap is really as significant as it appears. The Mercedes team principal believes the Maranello team already has an “absolutely competitive” power unit and has pushed back against Ferrari’s concerns over outright engine performance.
The second ADUO development is expected to arrive at Ferrari’s home race, the Italian Grand Prix, providing another performance step after the first upgrade introduced earlier in the season. The objective is to move closer to Mercedes on power, although Ferrari is aware that it is unlikely to completely eliminate the deficit before the end of 2026. Wolff, however, sees the situation differently and believes the Scuderia does not need any particular “help” to be competitive.
Ferrari prepares ADUO 2 engine upgrade for Monza
So far, Ferrari has managed its power-unit disadvantage relative to both Mercedes and Red Bull effectively. The group led by Enrico Gualtieri introduced the first FIA-permitted ADUO development at the Austrian Grand Prix, with that upgrade estimated to be worth around seven horsepower.
Another step followed at Barcelona, where Ferrari introduced a more aggressive hybrid map that allowed the power unit to deploy more kilowatts. Those developments have helped the Scuderia manage a deficit that remains particularly relevant on the combustion side of the power unit, an area explored in greater detail in our Ferrari SF-26 engine, drag and hybrid deployment analysis.
Ferrari nevertheless knows it cannot completely close the gap by the end of the 2026 season. A more substantial step is therefore expected at Monza, where the second ADUO intervention should give the team another opportunity to reduce the performance difference. Previous simulations of the planned Ferrari Monza engine upgrade have pointed towards a potentially meaningful improvement at one of Formula 1’s most power-sensitive circuits.
Toto Wolff: “We’re all more or less on the same level”
Toto Wolff, however, believes Ferrari’s current power unit is already competitive and has challenged the idea that Mercedes holds a decisive engine advantage.
“When we talk about the combustion engine alone, the FIA says Red Bull has the strongest engine. That is their method of measurement, but perhaps as an overall package we are the strongest. Ferrari keeps complaining that they don’t have the most powerful engine. But I believe they have an absolutely competitive power unit, in a car designed to generate a lot of downforce, with winglets covering half of the exhaust. I think we are all more or less on the same level.”
Wolff’s assessment places greater emphasis on the overall car package rather than simply comparing combustion-engine output. From his perspective, Ferrari’s aerodynamic philosophy and the amount of downforce produced by the car also have to be considered when evaluating the relative competitiveness of the power unit.
Why Ferrari still sees ADUO 2 as necessary
The Austrian executive is also playing the familiar game of competitive positioning, with his comments contradicting the figures measured by the FIA and those that have emerged clearly from analysis across race weekends. At Maranello, Ferrari remains behind on the thermal side of the power unit, a deficit that also has consequences for the electrical side.
That is why ADUO 2 remains an important part of Ferrari’s 2026 development programme. The upgrade could unlock another 15 horsepower and potentially provide a gain of around two tenths of a second per lap. Those figures would make the development particularly important at the 2026 Italian Grand Prix at Monza, where power-unit performance will be especially significant.
For Ferrari, the objective is therefore not necessarily to erase the Mercedes advantage in a single step, but to continue reducing the deficit as the second half of the season develops. Wolff may regard the current power units as broadly comparable, but Maranello is still preparing to exploit every available opportunity to extract more performance from its 2026 package.
