Lewis Hamilton expresses major F1 rivals surprise after 'leaking' data

Lewis Hamilton has expressed his surprise at Red Bull reportedly being adjudged as F1's best engine in the FIA's ADUO evaluations.

After finishing second in last week's Monaco GP, Hamilton revealed, before any official announcement from the FIA, that Red Bull Powertrains had been found to be the best engine under the ADUO process. 

Only the power from the Internal Combustion Engine is used to determine which teams qualify for ADUO assistance - which permits upgrades to the engines in a bid to level the playing field, with the manufacturer judged to be the best engine not qualifying for any upgrades.

From what Hamilton explained in Monaco, Mercedes HPP is set for one upgrade and the other three PUMs - Audi, Ferrari, and Honda, are all set for two apiece.

However, this is not an official ADUO verdict, with that only set to be confirmed when publicly communicated by the FIA. 

Turning to what RBPT had managed to do in such a short space of time, Hamilton was complimentary of the work that had been put in. 

"It is definitely a surprise, because the Red Bull and Mercedes engines are very, very close," Hamilton told media, including RacingNews365. 

"Red Bull has done an amazing job with their engine, but so has Mercedes, and I heard there was someone who went from Mercedes to Red Bull.

"They've done something that no one thought they'd do in such a short space of time as a new engine manufacturer, and fair play to them. 

"Mercedes still has a good engine, maybe as good, but it is very, very close between them."

When then asked about why Ferrari could not keep pace with Mercedes in Monaco, despite the lack of power required by the Principality circuit, Hamilton felt his SF-26 was simply missing downforce.

"I've not really spoken to them on the analysis, but I think it is just pure downforce," he said. 

"In Miami, we brought an upgrade package which the team went pretty hard to bring, and Mercedes didn't bring an upgrade package, and they won easily.

"Then they brought a big upgrade package of four-tenths, half-a-second ot Montreal, and that being a slow speed circuit, I guess you didn't see too much of it.

"But then we got to Monaco, and I could see when [Kimi Antonelli] was ahead of me just how much earlier he could get onto the power, how much more rear-end he had through the corners, and I couldn't keep up, and that's just downforce."