Hamilton confirms Ferrari to receive FIA power unit upgrade tokens

Lewis Hamilton has confirmed Ferrari will receive FIA-sanctioned Additional Upgrade and Development Opportunities (ADUO) tokens after the team's power unit was found to be trailing the class-leading designs. The announcement follows his runner-up finish at the Monaco Grand Prix, with Hamilton revealing a lengthy development push is underway to close the gap to Mercedes and Red Bull.\n\n### Why it matters:\nThe ADUO system offers a critical lifeline to manufacturers who fall behind, allowing performance upgrades otherwise banned under 2026 regulations. With Red Bull ranked as the benchmark and Mercedes in second, Ferrari's ability to exploit these tokens could define Hamilton's championship prospects. Engine performance is especially crucial heading to Barcelona, where long straights will expose any straight-line deficit.\n\n### The details:\n* Hamilton told Sky Sports F1 that Ferrari sits behind Mercedes and Red Bull in engine output, triggering the FIA's compensation mechanism.\n* The rules allow manufacturers within 2% of the benchmark one annual upgrade through 2027, while those over 2% down receive two per year.\n* The FIA is expected to officially confirm allocations in the coming days.\n* Hamilton cautioned that closing the gap is an eight-to-ten-month project, so major gains will not arrive overnight.\n* Ferrari still aims to bolt on new components at next week's Spanish Grand Prix to begin erasing the deficit.\n\n### What's next:\nMaranello now faces a race against time to turn ADUO tokens into track performance before the championship fight slips away. While Barcelona may only offer marginal improvements, the true test will come later in 2026 when Ferrari's upgraded power unit is expected to mature and either erase or confirm the gap to its rivals.