The mechanism by which engine manufacturers can make up lost ground could result in a few surprises.

Introduced this season, ADUO (Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities), is essentially a 'balance of performance' in that it allows those manufacturers who are 'off the pace' the opportunity to 'catch up', with extra bench-testing and limited upgrades. Unlike WEC however, ADUO allows manufacturers the opportunity to close the gap to the benchmark, as opposed to 'handicapping' the leading manufacturer.

Basically, it is to prevent a repeat of 2014 when Mercedes had a clear advantage which it enjoyed for a couple of seasons.

The FIA will evaluate performance at specific points in the season - after races 6, 12 and 18 - and the manufacturers of Internal Combustion Engines (ICE) 2 - 4% below the best-performing unit, will qualify for one upgrade, while those more than 4% off the benchmark will qualify for two.

Understandably, the likes of Honda and Audi will benefit from this.

The cancellation of the Bahrain and Saudi Grands Prix, means that the evaluation that should have taken place after Miami should now take place after Monaco, and while the FIA is in favour of bringing the evaluation date forward, Mercedes, understandably, is thought not to be in favour.

However, and it is a significant however, the situation is more complicated than it appears.

The evaluation is based on the performance of the ICE and there is increasing speculation that in this particular area it is the Red Bull engine that leads the way, that is the benchmark.

While critics will point to the fact that Mercedes is dominating the championships and the two Red Bull-powered teams are currently fifth and seventh with 30 points between them, this is largely thought to be down to the Red Bull and Racing Bulls cars and inferior battery efficiency.

All of which puts Toto Wolff's pre-season claim that the Red Bull Powertrain was the "benchmark" in a whole new light.

In a further twist, although highly unlikely, should the Red Bull unit be found to be the benchmark it is not entirely impossible that Mercedes would qualify for an upgrade.

Never a dull moment with F1 2026.