Ferrari will introduce its second ADUO power-unit upgrade at the 2026 Italian Grand Prix, while Mercedes has chosen to delay its own development until October — adding another technical subplot to a Monza weekend already shaped by Kimi Antonelli’s back-of-grid penalty.
The timing could hardly be more significant. Monza remains one of Formula 1’s most power-sensitive circuits, with long straights, heavy braking zones and a low-downforce configuration that places a premium on efficiency and straight-line speed.
Ferrari therefore arrives at its home race with a fresh engine specification, while championship leader Antonelli will take a new Mercedes power unit that does not yet include the German manufacturer’s permitted ADUO update.
Ferrari uses its second ADUO opportunity
Ferrari confirmed that the updated power unit will debut at Monza as part of the Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities system, introduced for the 2026 regulations to give manufacturers extra development scope when their internal combustion engine performance falls sufficiently far behind the benchmark.
The Scuderia was eligible for two additional upgrades after being assessed at more than 4% behind the benchmark in the FIA’s performance index. Ferrari used the first of those opportunities in Austria and will now deploy the second specification at Monza.
Team principal Fred Vasseur described the new specification as another step forward rather than a transformation, with Ferrari also bringing a circuit-specific low-downforce rear-wing package for the Italian Grand Prix.
Motorsport.com reports that the upgrade is understood to be worth around 15bhp and could significantly reduce Ferrari’s deficit to Mercedes. Ferrari has not publicly confirmed that figure, so it should be treated as a reported estimate rather than an official number.
The engine upgrade will sit alongside Ferrari’s special Michael Schumacher tribute livery for Monza, giving the team’s home weekend both a technical and emotional focus.
Mercedes chooses to wait until October
Mercedes is taking a different approach. Antonelli will fit a complete fresh power unit at Monza, exceeding his season allocation and triggering the back-of-grid penalty Tech Torque Media previously covered, but the new unit will remain on the current specification.
Mercedes has confirmed that its permitted ADUO development is instead expected to arrive during the American leg of the season, with Austin or Mexico City currently identified as the likely debut point.
That decision means Antonelli will start his home Grand Prix from the back while using a fresh but existing-specification engine. It also leaves Mercedes with a further performance development still to come later in the championship.
Why Monza makes the timing important
Monza is an unusually revealing place to compare power units. Teams strip away downforce to minimise drag, while the long full-throttle sections make engine performance, electrical deployment and energy management especially visible.
That does not mean Ferrari’s update should automatically reorder the competitive picture. The current generation of F1 power units is a complete system, and the FIA’s ADUO assessment focuses on the internal combustion engine rather than the entire power-unit package.
Ferrari’s task will therefore be to combine any additional combustion-engine performance with efficient electrical deployment and its low-drag Monza aerodynamic package. Even a modest gain can matter when qualifying margins are measured in hundredths of a second.
The wider context is covered in our 2026 Italian Grand Prix preview, where Antonelli’s penalty, Ferrari’s home challenge and McLaren’s growing threat already make this one of the most strategically interesting weekends of the season.
How the ADUO system works
Under the 2026 regulations, a manufacturer assessed at least 2% but less than 4% behind the leading ICE can receive one additional homologation upgrade, while a deficit of 4% or more can unlock two additional opportunities.
The mechanism is designed to prevent a manufacturer from being locked into a significant power deficit for an entire regulation cycle, without turning Formula 1 into a conventional balance-of-performance formula.
Tech Torque Verdict
Ferrari’s decision to use its second ADUO upgrade at Monza is logical. If there is a circuit where incremental power-unit performance can be exposed clearly, this is it — and the pressure to deliver in front of the tifosi only increases the incentive.
Mercedes, meanwhile, appears willing to sacrifice the immediate opportunity in favour of introducing its own update later, once the development is ready. The contrast gives Monza a useful technical benchmark: Ferrari gets its latest specification now, while Mercedes retains another step for the final phase of the championship.
Whether Ferrari’s upgrade is enough to materially change the weekend remains to be seen, but it gives Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc another potentially valuable tool at a circuit where small gains in straight-line performance can have an outsized effect.
