By Graham Duxbury @TheRealDux
Right now, as the Formula One teams head to the Miami Grand Prix, the focus inside several factories is not purely on extracting outright performance.
Instead, many engineers are engaged in a more surprising exercise: shaping - and in some cases subtly tempering - engine performance characteristics to align with the parameters of the ADUO concession system.
Introduced as part of the 2026 regulations by the FIA, the ADUO (Assessment of Development and Upgrade Opportunities) system is designed to maintain a competitive power balance among competing internal combustion engines from Mercedes, Ferrari, Red Bull Powertrains, Audi and Honda.
ADUO provides any manufacturer of a sub-optimal ICE with additional development allowances - such as increased dyno time and greater flexibility in component upgrades.
However, access to ADUO is not automatic. According to the technical regulations, manufacturers qualify for one additional homologation upgrade in 2026 if their ICE is at least two percent but less than four percent below the best-performing ICE. They will also receive one additional upgrade in 2027.
However, if a manufacturer’s ICE is at least four percent below the best-performing ICE, it can receive two additional homologation upgrades in 2026 and two additional upgrades in 2027.
This creates a highly specific target for a manufacturer - close enough to be competitive in the race, yet sufficiently behind in terms of outright performance to unlock development freedoms.
Crucially, the timing of this evaluation is important. While there has been some speculation that it will be delayed due to the cancellation of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian GPs, the FIA’s technical assessment is confidently expected to take place immediately after the Miami GP, with outcomes formalised ahead of the Monaco GP.
In other words, Miami will not simply be another GP, but it will represent a key reference point that will determine which manufacturers qualify for ADUO concessions.
With new rules related to battery power harvesting and deployment complicating the picture, the competitive order in Miami may not fully reflect true capability. Instead, it may likely represent a carefully managed balance between immediate results and long-term development advantage.