Lewis Hamilton did use the new ADUO2 engine at Madrid.
After a disappointing weekend at their home race at Monza, Ferrari headed to Madrid without much expectation. Their upgrade package at the Italian Grand Prix didn't bear fruit, even with the new ADUO2 engine (done under the Additional Development and Update Opportunities program) fitted into Lewis Hamilton's car.
However, Charles Leclerc had to continue with the older ADUO1 at Madrid. Still, Leclerc had a decent one-lap pace in qualifying, even while using the specifications of their previous engine. Team principal Fred Vasseur even thought that they had the pace to potentially win in Madrid.
But why didn't the Monegasque driver use the ADUO2 engine at the Madring circuit? And did Hamilton really had the ADUO2 fitted the whole weekend?
Leclerc's ADUO2 engine suffered some damage at Monza
Charles Leclerc had a miserable Sunday during the Italian GP, crashing and making a heavy 60G impact at the Parabolica in the opening laps. The crash apparently put an "unusual thermal stress" on the new power unit, forcing the team to revert to the older ADUO1 unit for Leclerc's car at Madrid.
Ferrari did say that this was just more of a precautionary step, as the damaged ADUO2 unit was still "recoverable."
The good news was Leclerc still had a good pace during the qualifying sessions at the Spanish Grand Prix. He was in the running for pole position in Q3, but had to settle for P5 at the end.
On Sunday, Leclerc provisionally led most of the laps because he didn't pit under the Virtual Safety Car conditions on Lap 16. Ferrari was hoping for a Safety Car at some point in the race, but it didn't come.
Eventually, Leclerc crossed the line in fourth position. It was a decent result despite using the older ADUO1.
Data shows that Hamilton indeed used the ADUO2
With Leclerc using the older ADUO1, Hamilton had the advantage of maximizing the upgraded ADUO2 at Madrid. But after using it in the Free Practice sessions, there were reports saying that he will return the ADUO2 to the team's pool to preserve its mileage.
Apparently, those reports are incorrect. Telemetry and post-session technical confirmations verified that Hamilton remained on the ADUO2 for both qualifying and the race. After the qualifying session, Leclerc even admitted that he possibly lost some time on the straights due to the older specifications in his engine.
So, to answer the question, Hamilton did have the power of the ADUO2 the entire Spanish GP weekend. Let's see if Leclerc will have another opportunity of using the new engine specs when the grid returns to Baku next week.
