Fred Vasseur Reveals Risk Behind Ferrari ADUO Upgrade

Fred Vasseur has revealed that Ferrari took a risky approach with its ADUO power unit upgrade because development decisions were made before its position under the FIA measurements was fully clear.

Under the ADUO framework, teams are granted development scope based on the performance gap between their internal combustion engine and the FIA-defined benchmark. With Red Bull judged to have the strongest ICE, rival manufacturers received upgrade tokens depending on how far behind they were.

Vasseur explained that engine development lead times are so long that Ferrari could not wait for the full assessment process before preparing the second step of its power unit. However, that decision carried a cost cap risk had Ferrari been classified as the benchmark manufacturer.

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"The lead time on the engine is huge, and you have months of delay on some components. It means that it was very risky for us to launch the ADUO, or at least step two of the engine, very early for cost cap reasons. It means that we are not expecting at all a big step this weekend," said Vasseur.

Ferrari quietly ran its first update at the Austrian Grand Prix, taking a cautious approach that included using an older practice engine to absorb early mileage. However, Friday's running was not fully convincing, with Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc outside the leading group.

Vasseur said Austria's altitude, air temperature and track temperature made it difficult for Ferrari to find the right balance. He stressed that the team still needs to work on the set-up, car and driving before qualifying, although its Barcelona recovery showed that a difficult Friday does not necessarily define Ferrari's weekend.