Formula One has taken a drastic decision for the upcoming season: to reduce the electric power of the engine and increase its thermal capacity. And they intend to achieve this by boosting the fuel flow. A move that aims to quiet the criticisms directed at the new regulations, but it comes with a notable catch: the ADUO rules.
The ADUO are extra aids designed to help the slower teams improve. Obviously, Honda will be full of them once measurements begin. But now some rivals fear that Honda could use those advantages to already prepare an engine optimized for the new technical regulation.
Honda could use the ADUO to prepare an engine for the new regulation
The new Formula One regulation has done nothing but attract criticism, so the sport’s top brass had no choice but to decide: allocate more room to combustion at the expense of reducing the electric portion. From the upcoming season, F1 engines will move to a 60/40 split in favor of combustion.
Currently it is estimated that they were around 55/45, or in some cases approaching 50/50. Providing more space to thermal power will mainly aim to reduce decelerations on straightaways and speed differences, and it will be achieved by increasing the fuel flow. But there is a problem: the ADUO rules.
Some teams have raised the alarm because they have noticed a small detail: Honda could hold a substantial advantage thanks to the ADUO rules. In fact, there are those who have even warned that unless regulatory action is taken, Honda could show up next season with the best engine.
The reason is straightforward. With the recent modification of the ADUO, aids granted to developers trailing in their progress, Honda will have many more hours of evolution, budget headroom, and accumulation of aids. And the Japanese could decide: to apply these improvements to create an engine tailored to the 2027 regulation.
Thus, Honda would forgo trying to match Mercedes and the others this year, aiming instead to lead in 2027 with an engine designed entirely for the new concept. The competition would be calling for a reset of the ADUO by the end of this season, but even so, Honda would already have gained a substantial edge.
One turn of events that, if Honda knows how to exploit it, could see Aston Martin magically rising from the back of the pack to the sport’s front-runners in Formula 1.
Images | Aston Martin
