Ford returns to Formula 1

Red Bull’s 2023 car reveal was unexpectedly glitzy. And it was held in New York. Attendees had been clued in beforehand that they should be prepared for something more than a new paint job for the RB19. And so it proved.

Red Bull announced a collaboration with Ford that would see both Red Bull and its junior team, Alpha Tauri, use Ford-branded powertrains from 2026.

Scheduled to run until at least 2030, this deal would see Ford provide technical input, with the Blue Oval looking to bolster Red Bull Powertrains’ expertise on the hybrid side of the engine. The 2026 rule set not only mandates 100-percent sustainable fuels but also an increase to almost 50 percent in the electrical component of the powertrain.

Red Bull’s Milton Keynes facility has been gearing up to provide the internal combustion expertise but third-party support for the hybrid system seemed a natural fit.

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But, as Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has mentioned on a number of occasions, that deal with an OEM had to be on Red Bull’s terms. The team had previously engaged in talks with both Honda and Porsche, the former engaging in its usual ill-timed dithering and the latter having overplayed its hand somewhat by attempting to buy a 50 percent stake in the Red Bull F1 operation.

Meanwhile Ford has pledged both a significant financial commitment and a technical contribution while allowing Red Bull to retain ultimate control. Ford gets the opportunity to partner a race team that, importantly, isn’t a rival car manufacturer.

This works for both parties as it’s worth remembering that Ford’s previous attempts at owning F1 teams have been patchy at best. Its acquisition of Stewart F1 to create the factory Jaguar-branded F1 team was an exercise in corporate top brass at Dearborn telling seasoned F1 professionals how to do F1.

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“It started two plus years ago, as we started to understand what the future of the sport was,” explained Martin Rushbrook, Ford Performance director in an interview with The Race. “You’ve got to come back in the right way. A lot of people came forward to see if there was an opportunity for us to partner with them. And we approached some teams.

“But initially, none of them seemed right. And coming back as a full factory owning a team, as we had done in the past, also didn’t feel right.”

Red Bull also retains direction over race operations and strategy without ceding a controlling interest in their business, benefiting from Ford’s marketing muscle and the not inconsiderable advantage of bolstering its share of voice in the North American market which, from 2023, sees five F1 races per year. There’s also the technical feedback developing the hybrid powertrains.

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“The initial areas that have been identified where we’re working are in the battery cell technology, in the electric motor itself, the control software – both in the fundamental software as well as to optimise the performance,” Rushbrook said.

Former driver and F1 pundit Martin Brundle was perhaps a little more dismissive of Ford’s involvement. “This is a sponsorship plus with Ford,” he said. “They said they will get involved with the technology and it’s a way of Red Bull being able to badge the engine. This is a branding thing.”

Fellow analyst Karun Chandhok said, “I think Ford got the best deal here. Because they don’t need to invest the resources that Audi are doing, for example. By [Audi] coming in as a whole team, it’s going to cost them hundreds of millions to get it all up and running for a period of time.”

“[With Ford] they’re going to walk into an existing championship-winning operation who’ve got an engine department that’s well and truly on their path to the 2026 rules.”

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Where does this leave honda?

Whisper it, but it’s possible that we could see a return to one of the most illustrious pairings in F1 history – McLaren and Honda. That marriage ended in somewhat acrimonious divorce in 2017 after poor performance and reliability prompted McLaren to jump ship to Renault.

Honda has formally registered its interest in the 2026 rule set and is now one of the six manufacturers aiming to participate. McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown stated in November 2022 that “we’re very happy with Mercedes” but is known to have visited Red Bull Powertrains and opened talks with Honda, canvassing options for the 2026 season.