Ferrari's Monza ADUO Engine to Deliver 'At Least 15 HP', Reports AutoRacer

A Sharper Number for Monza

The headline figure is the "at least 15 HP" estimate AutoRacer now attaches to Ferrari's second power-unit step of 2026. That upgrade is being developed under the FIA's ADUO framework — short for Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities, the new regulatory mechanism that grants manufacturers who are down on performance extra in-season development room to close the gap. In other words, "ADUO" is the allowance, not the engine's name; Ferrari qualified for the relief and is spending it on a substantially revised power unit.

According to the reporting, the Monza specification combines three threads: a redesigned turbocharger (revised compressor vanes and impeller geometry), changes to the combustion engine aimed at higher operating temperatures, and a new Shell fuel compound. The package carries the internal designation 067/6 and has been completing reliability running in Maranello. AutoRacer's estimate marks a clear step up from the Scuderia's first ADUO upgrade, introduced at the Austrian Grand Prix, which was worth a more modest 5–8bhp from engine and fuel combined.

Three Races, Three Targets

Beyond the headline horsepower, the @f1wow post sets out three explicit development objectives Ferrari has mapped to its next three flyaway-style fixtures — and they frame the second half of the season neatly:

• Zandvoort — expand the aerodynamic advantage. The Dutch Grand Prix returns from the summer break as a sprint weekend, and Ferrari's focus there is aero, not engine: building on an SF-26 floor that has been arguably the best chassis through the corners all year.
• Monza — reduce the engine gap. Two weeks later, the ADUO power unit lands at the Temple of Speed, where horsepower is king and Ferrari's straight-line deficit has hurt it most.
• Austin — improve traction and the rear axle. Looking further ahead to the United States Grand Prix, the target shifts to mechanical grip — getting the power down more cleanly out of slow corners.

It amounts to a structured, race-by-race catch-up plan rather than one silver-bullet upgrade — the same incremental philosophy team principal Fred Vasseur has preached all season. (We mapped the broader roadmap, including the autumn package and early 2027 engine work, in our Ferrari 2026 upgrade plan feature.)

Why Monza Matters Most

Of the three targets, Monza is the one that could swing the championship arithmetic. The Italian Grand Prix is the most power-sensitive circuit on the calendar — long straights, minimal cornering, flat-out for seconds at a time — which is precisely where Ferrari's estimated 20bhp deficit to Mercedes has cost it most in 2026. Bringing the biggest engine step of the year to the venue that rewards horsepower above all else is no accident.

It is also Ferrari's home race, in front of the Tifosi, and historically the weekend Maranello reserves for its most significant updates. If the ADUO engine delivers even close to the 15bhp AutoRacer suggests, the speed-trap numbers in qualifying will be the first concrete evidence of whether the recovery plan is working.

The Bigger Recovery: 30 HP and a Bridge to 2027

The Monza step does not exist in isolation. Ferrari's two-phase ADUO programme — Austria then Monza — is understood to target roughly 30bhp of combined gains, with the explicit goal of halving the gap to Mercedes' latest specification. AutoRacer's "at least 15 HP" for the Monza half suggests the Scuderia believes the heavier, second upgrade can carry the lion's share of that recovery.

The ambition stretches beyond 2026. Ferrari is treating this season as a technical bridge: lessons from the SF-26's power-unit development are feeding directly into a deeper engine-architecture rethink for 2027, rather than being siloed as a one-off fix. The risk, as ever, is regulatory — if the FIA tightens certain concepts for next year, some of the engineering assumptions could be undercut. For now, though, the focus is firmly on delivering the Monza number.

The Standings Ferrari Is Chasing

The urgency is easy to understand once the points are on the table. After Round 11 in Hungary, the last race before the summer break, Mercedes leads the constructors' championship on 379 points to Ferrari's 307 — a 72-point margin with the Scuderia sitting second, two wins from eleven rounds. In the drivers' standings, Charles Leclerc is fourth on 138 points, with Ferrari team-mate Lewis Hamilton second on 169, 50 behind championship leader Kimi Antonelli.

Closing a 72-point constructors' gap in eleven rounds is a tall order — which is exactly why an engine step worth real horsepower, landing at the one track that rewards it most, matters as much as it does. The full season context is in our 2026 mid-season review, and the live, self-updating table is always on our championship standings page.

What to Watch

First up is the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort, August 21–23 — a sprint weekend where Ferrari's aero objective gets its first test. Then, two weeks later, the moment of truth: the Italian Grand Prix at Monza on September 6, where the ADUO engine makes its debut and the speed traps will tell the real story. Track times, the countdown and live results as they land are on our Race Hub, and the full run-in is on the 2026 race calendar. If AutoRacer's 15bhp estimate holds up at Monza, the second half of Ferrari's season could look very different.