​Motorsport photoFew topics in the Formula 1 paddock have generated as much political debate during the first half of the season as ADUO, the Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities.The system was introduced as a safety net for a manufacturer that falls behind, partly in response to Honda’s situation under the previous regulations, but in practice it has turned into a political battleground.Toto Wolff immediately warned that it should not become a “leapfrog mechanism”, although there was considerable surprise when it was not Mercedes High Performance Powertrains but Red Bull Ford Powertrains that ended up at the top of the FIA’s first ranking.There are two reasons for this. Firstly, the ADUO measurements are based solely on the internal combustion engine, creating a significant discrepancy between the measurement method and the development opportunities, which also cover the electrical side of the power unit.Secondly, there have been suggestions in the paddock that several manufacturers – including Mercedes and Ferrari – played the game cleverly by not showing their full hand during the opening race weekends in order to secure one ADUO token, or even two in Ferrari’s case.The outcome of the first period has caused frustration at Red Bull, which also explains why those results have still not been publicly announced.Red Bull Ford Powertrains has been placed at the top of the standings by the FIA following the first measurement period, much to the frustration of Red Bull’s top managementRed Bull Ford Powertrains has been placed at the top of the standings by the FIA following the first measurement period, much to the frustration of Red Bull’s top managementFIA single-seater director Nikolas Tombazis previously indicated that he was open to considering more parameters for the ADUO measurements – such as the size of the turbo – but that teams and manufacturers pushed to keep the system as simple as possible.That raises the question of whether the FIA has been surprised by all the controversy surrounding ADUO this season, which Motorsport asked Tombazis.”Well, in F1 it seems that almost everything is quite sensitive. So it’s very rare that you get 11 teams and five or six PU manufacturers saying, ‘Fantastic, we all agree’,” the Greek replied.”The only thing I think that everybody agrees on is that the August shutdown is a good thing, and I have to remind you that it was my idea.”But that’s the only thing that everybody agrees on. I think everything else [is difficult]. And even that took time for everybody to agree on. You know, when Franz Tost was still in place, he didn’t want it.”According to Tombazis, two different aspects need to be distinguished when assessing ADUO: how accurate the measurements are and whether the system is working as originally intended.Amid all the dissatisfaction surrounding the outcome of period one, Red Bull requested a factual verification of the results, but according to Tombazis, the FIA’s meas