Aston Martin and Honda are set to significantly benefit from the ADUO (Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities) as the FIA has announced significant changes to power unit concessions. The changes are set to further help the power unit manufacturers, who are significantly behind the benchmark.
AUTO: MAY 03 F1 Miami Grand Prix – Source: Getty
An update to the ADUO was announced by the FIA following a ratification with the World Motor Sport Council on Thursday. Changes have been made to the ADUO period as well as the budget concession & upgrade opportunities.
FIA introduced the ADUO ahead of the 2026 season to help the engine manufacturers who were falling behind the curve. Following the cancellation of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian GP, changes have been made to the periods when ADUO will be checked and be applicable, with the first round being after the Canadian GP.
Greater allowances have been allowed for the struggling power unit manufacturers, including a new slab for the manufacturers who are over 10% behind the benchmark, which in the current case is Mercedes.
The over 10% slower slab, in which Aston Martin with the Honda power unit will likely fall will see extra development and dyno hours, increased from the 190 hours for the 8-10% slab to 230 hours.
The changes will also give Honda and Aston Martin an extra $11M for development, which will be subtracted from the budget. Along with the earliest $8M benefit for the ADUO slab with the extra $11M (only for the inaugural year) the Silverstone-based outfit will get $19M worth of concession.
The second check, which was supposed to be after Round 12 (a 10 after cancellation of the races in the Middle East), will now take place after Round 11. Both Aston Martin with the Honda power unit and Audi are going to get the ADUO benefits. Mercedes and Red Bull are the top-performing PU and won’t get the concessions.
Aston Martin fixes the Honda reliability & vibrations issues, but a new issue arose at the Miami GP
Aston Martin had been struggling with the vibrations from the Honda power unit since the start of the season. The vibrations were breaking the car apart and causing numbness in the driver’s hands. Coming into the Miami GP, Honda brought a solution for the same, which reportedly worked.
However, an issue with the gearbox arose at the Miami GP, with Alonso suggesting an urgent fix for the same.
“The biggest problem for me was the gearbox. It was impossible to drive. I lost sync in every braking point, I had no acceleration out of the corners, and the downshifts were all over the place, very random. Sometimes I had push, sometimes I had rear locking. That was a bad surprise,” said Alonso
“That’s the fix number one for Canada. With all these heavy brakings in Canada we need to improve the gearbox behaviour at the moment,” he added
Both Aston Martin drivers crossed the chequered flag at the Miami GP, which was a first for the Silverstone-based team this season after struggling with reliability through the first three races.
