P1 with Matt and Tommy - BONUS: Our reaction to F1’s new engine catchup programme

Episode Date: June 10, 2026

As part of F1’s plan to level the playing field, the first stage of their Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities has arrived - essentially some decisions about which teams are allowed to bring additional upgrades. We’re here to explain these decisions, which are…. farcical.Join us tomorrow for predictions!Our brand new live show 'Super Podding' is coming to the UK and Amsterdam this autumn! Get your tickets here: http:/tix.to/p1liveSign up to our Patreon for just $5 a month! You'll get access to every P1 episode ad-free, extended versions of every 2026 race review, early access to tickets & merch, and access to our Discord server where you can chat with us and other F1 fans! Click here to sign up now: http://patreon.com/mattp1tommyFollow us on socials! You can find us on Twitter, Instagram, Twitch, YouTube and TikTokP1 with Matt and Tommy is the world's biggest F1 podcast. Subscribe for new podcasts around every single race throughout the 2026 Formula 1 season! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello everybody and welcome back to the P1 podcast with Matt and Tommy. So Tommy, we need to talk about this whole engine thing because it's quite shocking. It's quite surprising what has dripped out to the public, right? So essentially how we understand this is that, well, the FIA, let's start from the beginning. The FIA have this ADUO. thing, which is basically gone, you know the exact, go on, really off right now. It's the additional development and upgrade opportunities. Okay, you definitely read that. I could see your eyes.

So essentially, it is a catch-up program. It's not a balance of performance. It's to try and help the manufacturers, the power unit developers that have struggled at the beginning of this. Yeah, at the beginning of this regulation set, to make sure there isn't a massive chasm when we go through the next months, the next years. So the results hasn't or haven't been announced to the public because they have fear of sounding bad these brands.

Which is crazy because they need to work out badly what they're doing with this because if it's going to be such a pivotal moment in the Formula One season, they can't hide it. But they want to hide it because the manufacturer. want to hide it. They are to a degree, right? So what we know, let's get into what we know right now. So, Red Bull Power trains have been deemed the best ICE, right? So let's just clear this up right now. Of course, it's a 55-45 split between the ICE and the battery stuff, right? The 55% is the internal combustion engine.

For some reason, the FIA are measuring just that. The V6. Just the V6. Because maybe they thought it was easier to judge it or I don't know what the reasons are. It doesn't make any sense really. No, because it's 45% of the entire thing you're doing is not involved. And also, I would argue the 45% is the biggest problem for some of the teams. it's not the thing that they've been doing for a very long time,

which is just the normal internal combustion engine to a lot of degree. Yeah, definitely, because an I see an ICE, you know, back back in the good old days when we just had a V8 engine, you saw midfielders getting podiums and things and being fine because it's a very simple engine that everyone builds and everyone's quite close. But let's be honest, when they start building these really complex power units and things, That's when the field spread gets so massive because all the battery and hybrid issues can be so varied by teams. And that's the bit that they're not measuring here, which is insane to me. And it feels to me like they don't actually have a method of measuring it.

And that's why they've committed to a more simple ICE test to be able to try and close the field. But the problem here is that Red Bull have been deemed to have the best ICE. So they get no upgrades, zilch, until... No money. It's remeasured in period two of this whole thing. So there's three periods before we then go into 2027. So right now they can't do anything. They are fully stuck in place.

Then we have Mercedes, who are allowed to have one upgrade this year and one upgrade next year. So this is not just, you know, this is not just locked in for now, but this is what they're allowed to do. So they, they, Mercedes, who have won every single Grand Prix this year, are allowed to upgrade their engine once, and they've got an extra 3 million, haven't they, as well, to spend? It's 3 million to spend and 70 extra operational hours granted.

Good, right. And also, the thing with this that I find the most interesting is that there is a limit in the sense of they can't just go, are we going to use this all for next year if they've been allowed an upgrade for this year? Now, they have to use it this year. But when you think about Formula One, teams are always a season or two ahead anyway in terms of their plans. Mercedes don't need to upgrade this power unit for this year.

Not at all. They could be already looking for next season. They could bring it for Abu Dhabi, as far as I'm aware and how I understand this. So for Mercedes to have an upgrade compared to Red Bull who have been nowhere near the win, really, for a lot of the Grand Prix. Of course, Max has had some star moments, but realistically, come on. They are not on the same level as Mercedes when you take into account the entire power unit. After this, it gets slightly more murky. So when it comes to the results, which is essentially just paddock rumors and then people feeding this information to us, thank you so much to those people that are working very hard to keep us in the know.

You have Audi, Honda and Ferrari. And all we know is that they are allowed two upgrades this year and one next year. At least. But there is such. Yeah, but there is such a massive array of things they could have, but that's not been confirmed. So essentially, what we do know is that they have all been deemed to be at least 4% behind, which means at least they get $4.65 million extra cash to just burn into their upgrade program and at least 110 hours to work on it.

But that can go all the way to $11 million and $230 hours if they're more than 10% behind, are you, Aston Martin. Well, that was a bracket that was literally made for Aston Martin and Honda because they knew that they were going to be so behind and added it even more. This whole situation, I think, is a massive farce. And of course, you know, I'm sat here in a maxed stuff and T-shirt as a Red Bull fan. So I'm sure people going, well, shock. But everyone knows in Formula One and everyone in.

in the paddock and everyone that works in Formula One knows that Mercedes have the best power unit. I do think the Red Bull have a very good power unit has to be said and they've done a really good job with it. I think it is the car that is letting Red Bull down at the moment. It's of course, there's all this talk that they're overweight, which I think it is true. And it's the chassis side of things that are letting Red Bull down. But Mercedes, as you say, have won every single race so far. Quite, you know, they've been very comfortable. There've been an absolute rocket ship, particularly, you know, look at China and how they just go through the kind of final sector and things like that and how they are on the straits when we have that little trek domination graphic and stuff. And it's always that they can just deploy and they're absolutely unbelievable in that kind of part.

And yet there, they now get a chance to catch up on themselves. it's just it's ridiculous and I get why they've done this because they're kind of doing it's a bit like the budget cap where they're trying their best to almost have like an NFL style draft where in the theory the teams get closer together and they're trying their absolute best so it's not just like the same teams winning all the time but I don't think it's working personally because still seeing the same teams dominating and now a team like Mercedes have even more money to spend? Yes.

So they're allowed to bring an upgrade. Rebel aren't. And the thing is as well, they don't have to focus. Just because this test is on the V6 engine, it doesn't mean they have to focus on the V6 engine. They can upgrade their battery side of things, which I imagine is probably where they want to focus on anyway because of it being brand new as a full system in 2026.

So that gives them flexibility as well to work on whatever they need to. And the thing I find the most insane out of all of this is the privacy, because the entire season so far, let's take Ferrari, for example, Hamilton has said almost every Grand Prix, yeah, we're behind on power. Yeah, our engine's not good enough. And I think most drivers, to be honest, if you're not in Mercedes, have said, yeah, look, we're just struggling from the power unit side, maybe apart from Red Bull.

And yet, even though this is public knowledge that they don't have as good an engine as Mercedes, all of those manufacturers are like, we don't want to tell the public, though, just how far behind we are, because it's going to make us look silly. But what do you mean?

We all know you're slower. So just tell us how much slower you are. It doesn't matter. I'm not going to watch this and go, well, I'm not going to buy a Ferrari now. They don't know. how to make the battery side of a Formula One car work, so why would I buy a premium Ferrari? Well, yeah, exactly. They've done enough damage with their hideous electric car that they

released. They don't need to worry about the PR on essentially being slightly behind Mercedes in the Formula and power unit. And at the end of the day, like it's a results-based business, we can see the results. We can see Astor Martin are struggling. We can and see all this. You can see the track dominance graphics. We can see where you're slow and it's on the straits. And what I find absolutely bizarre as well after Monaco is this narrative of can Hamilton catch Kimmy Antonelli in the World Championship

and now Mercedes have an upgrade. Yeah, what do they know? Are Ferrari 10% behind because if so, championship back on, we're going to win it all? Actually, one thing I want to add on that is and you're absolutely right in the whole ridiculous side of the manufacturers being embarrassed.

I'm sorry, but are you telling me that let's just take an example like Audi are you telling me that a FIA document that gets released that realistically is only going to be absorbed by the hardcores and the nerds like us that are watching Formula One and involved in this kind of thing to say that their power unit is behind how is that more embarrassing and bad look on the manufacturers

than say Audi's position in the Constructors' Championship. Nika Hockenbeck hasn't scored a point yet. These things, the results, we can see them. That Honda and how terrible it's gone with Aster Martin, that is so much more damaging to the manufacturers than just some document that's going to hopefully help them catch up. I just don't, they're just so precious about it, aren't they? It's just ridiculous.

they really are but are we deep down actually surprised by this kind of sort of route that they've gone down because they'll always try and protect brand image the only reason we know about the Mercedes one is because of the difference in the amount of upgrades they can bring so otherwise they probably wouldn't have said anything either but the fact is we we know that there's a discrepancy there so yeah a very bizarre strange situation at least you know at least Ferrari's not top that's you know I'll take that one and I would be I'd be flipping chairs and tables if if Red Bull if Ferrari had been deemed the fastest I see then then we would have been fully cooked for the rest of the season but yeah anything more to add other than just that I think it kind of makes a mockery of the first one it's going to be fascinating to see how it continues as we get on into the season and yeah how how it changes for the next like period two, as you say, and what happens then? Because if Mercedes get another one, they've still won every race by then,

I think they're probably going to have to have a look at it, surely, because surely that that is a loophole there, that you could just dump all your upgrades and money and opportunity into the side of it that isn't being checked by this. And because 45% of your power unit, you just focus on that and then you go oh the ICE is not great

thank you very much I'll have some more money and upgrade time yeah because even though the whole testing method is completely secret the FIA are you know they're little detectives they are

they're not being played oh wait here's the results Red Bull are the fastest engine I think that the F1 teams have a good idea maybe apart from Red Bull as to how they're testing because yeah that's

surprising results to say the least and it'll be very interesting to see what period two brings, which will be in another six races, I believe, or five races, six races. Yes, I'm trying to work out when it would be because obviously the whole cancellations have kind of messed with everything a little bit. But I will find out, hopefully, if I can find it. Because who knows if that information is even there with whole secrecy. Let's have a look. Okay, so I've got to say the second period covers rounds 6 through 11, which is Monaco to Hungary.

Okay. And then we'll get results probably soon, or not results. Drip-fed information from there on, unless there's other agreements made between then of how ridiculous it is that nobody knows the power of the engine. But probably not. We will see. That is it. Okay.

Thank you, everybody. Hope you're up to speed. We are kind of up to speed. No one's fully up to speed. That's just Formula One. See you soon. Bye. P1 is a Stack production and part of the ACAST created network.