Red Bull boss Laurent Mekies has explained that the team is happy to "sit down" and discuss the future of the ADUO regulations following FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem's plan to aid Honda to keep Fernando Alonso in F1.
Given Honda's struggles in the first-year of the new generation of power units and Alonso's wavering over whether he should stay in grand prix racing or call time at the end of his 23rd season, Ben Sulayem has proposed aiding Honda with further rules concessions to bring it into line with the other power unit manufacturers.
This would likely be done through the Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities mechanism, which permits those power units down on performance to the benchmark in terms of ICE power, which is currently Red Bull, extra upgrades.
The 2026 power unit design specs were homologated earlier this year, but to allow manufacturers to catch-up to the leading unit, ADUO was created, with Audi and Ferrari among those to have already delivered their first allotted upgrade.
Under the rules, Honda would be entitled to the same two upgrades in 2026 and in 2027 as Audi, and Ferrari, but Ben Sulayem is keen to go further to keep Alonso in F1, with the two-time champion fiercely critical of the direction the championship has gone in.
Red Bull was surprised that its in-house RBPT power unit was judged the best under ADUO, with Mekies explaining that the team would play its part in holding discussing around the regulations.
"I think as much as we cannot agree all the time, I think as a sport, we try to keep a fairly open look at the regulations," Mekies told media, including RacingNews365, when asked about Ben Sulayem's comments.
"You may recall that there was actually a change in the ADUO regulations earlier this year, precisely in order to help those who were much behind compared to what was initially voted on.
"So all the teams voted in favour of that for the benefit of the sport.
"If there is a situation that needs fixing or needs to be supported, we normally find solutions.
"I guess, more to your question, we will at some stage sit down and discuss the future of the ADUO regulations.
"The shortfalls, we know some of them, and I'm sure there'll be choices to address them."
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What did Ben Sulayem actually say?
At a recent business forum meeting in Madrid ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix, the FIA chief explained that it was "not acceptable" for Alonso to be in such uncompetitive machinery, and that a plan was in place to aid Honda.
"We did something earlier in May, legally, for the team, towards the engine, to go and improve," Ben Sulayem said.
"Then I said to him [Alonso], 'I’m not going to tell you what we are going to do. Please tell me what you want because you are the driver - tell me what you want us to do to improve these results.'
"Suddenly, you see everything change, and then I get a call, and then I had a meeting yesterday. We are here also to support."
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