Audi is one of the Formula 1 power unit manufacturers that were granted ADUO upgrades in order to catch up with Red Bull Ford powertrains’ field-leading engine as per the FIA’s evaluation.Audi can make use of two ADUO upgrades in 2026 and another two in 2027, and while they have brought an upgrade in Barcelona, that was basically focusing on the driveability.

The team’s driver, Nico Hulkenberg, explained the upgrades saying: “It is about what you request on the pedal, but how the PU responds, how the torque delivery is. Does it surge, is it consistent, is it smooth? It is very fine stuff.

“We can talk about it, but you need to have experience to feel it. It happens in a blink of an eye, less than a tenth on a corner exit. But with a car on the limit, over the limit, all these things matter a lot.

“If you then have driveability issues on top of that, it is like trying to hit a curveball. The same on the gearbox side with shifting, shift quality.

“As you are all aware and heard of, there can be big differences in terms of shift quality, upshifts, and downshifts. And they have an impact on car balance and car behavior too. So it all goes together,” the German explained.

But it now appears that Audi will not be upgrading their power unit again this season, as per racing director Allan McNish.

Asked about the timing of the new upgrade, McNish told Motorsport.com: “It’ll be next year. The reason is simple: staying within the budget cap.

“Everybody has got this trade-off between when you’re bringing upgrades—chassis and PU—and also where you spend your money. Because you can’t spend everything at one time, because then you don’t have anything to fight with later. So it’s got to be a managed expectation, and not just over one season, but multiple seasons as well.

“And so certainly from our point of view with the ADUO, we brought something in Barcelona straight away, which was some small adaptation, and that worked well; that helped us on our way.

“And then I would say the bigger parts are for 2027. So we will not see anything big on the power unit until then,” McNish concluded.