FIA in favor of changing evaluation process: what will Mercedes do?

After six Grand Prix weekends, an evaluation was set to take place under the so-called ADUO system (Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities), which determines how much development leeway power unit suppliers receive during the season.

Within that system, there are multiple checkpoints at which the performance of the various engines is compared. Normally, the first evaluation takes place after six F1 races, but the FIA wants to move that moment forward to accommodate manufacturers, GPblog learned last week.

The reason is that the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian GPs have been dropped, and the tally of six race weekends would only be reached after the Monaco Grand Prix. Originally, that would have been after the race in Miami.

For the Mercedes team, an earlier adjustment would be unfavorable. If other engine suppliers are allowed to improve their power units, the German manufacturer could lose its current advantage over the competition.

Therefore, the question is how Mercedes will respond: will Toto Wolff and company try to prevent the ADUO system from being brought forward, or are they fine with it? GPblog understands that, for now, it is neither.

Mercedes first wants to see exactly what the FIA's proposal entails, and then assess it on its merits.

Incidentally, the question is whether a potential "no" from Mercedes would matter much. If a majority of manufacturers favor an accelerated procedure, Mercedes seems out of luck regardless.