Ford linked to F1 return with Red Bull

[Everso Biggyballies]

Well we have seen Porsche come and go as a potential RB power unit partner, Honda seemed to be back in but have lodged a post 2026 PU provider interest independent of Red Bull, and of course Red Bull also have the capability / option of doing their own in house engine through their RB Powertrains set up....

But now it seems they have another, new option.

Ford linked to F1 return with Red Bull


Yes, Ford has emerged as a surprise candidate for a Formula 1 return in 2026, after being linked to Red Bull’s engine plans. Somewhat ironic given that Red Bull was born out of what was previously the official works Ford team, albeit under the Jaguar brand name. Of course historically Ford have been down that engine provider path, albeit Cosworth who became a Ford brand. Ultimately the Cosworth DFV carried Ford branding on the cam covers and it remains one of the most successful and well known engines of all time.

However , Ford undoubtedly made a mess of things in the Jaguar venture, and it must. have burnt their pride to see the success RBR turned their failure into.

But the news is they are prepared to swallow their pride and look at a joint project from 2026, despite their walking away and showing little F1 interest since. It seems the sudden resurgence of F1 in the US may be a catalyst in this renewed interest.

While there does not seem an eagerness for it to get involved in funding a full works team or producing its own power unit, sources suggest that one avenue being explored is a tie-up with the Red Bull team.

Red Bull has committed to producing its own power unit from 2026, with its current partnership with Honda running until the end of 2025.

It has been clear, however, that it is open to interest from other manufacturers who may want to tie up with it – either as a badging exercise or to offer some technical assistance.

Speaking earlier this year, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner said: “We are fully focused on a Red Bull power unit, and if there was a like-minded partner that could contribute something to the project, then of course you would have to absolutely consider that. But it's not a prerequisite.

“We will be the only team other than Ferrari to have engine and chassis all on one campus under one roof.

“We believe that for the long-term competitiveness of the team, it is absolutely the right thing to be doing. And of course, there are other opportunities it presents as well."

The end of that deal prompted talk that current partner Honda could be favourite to get involved, especially with it eager to help develop the kind of electric power technology that will become more important in F1 from 2026.

But now sources have revealed that Ford is exploring options with Red Bull, with the two companies already working together in WRC.

It is suggested that Ford’s preferred route is very different from Porsche, which wanted more control of the Red Bull team as well as ownership of shares.

Instead, Ford has no interest in formal ownership of the operation and is believed to be happy to leave Red Bull in charge of technical development of the power unit, although there would be the possibility for it to offer assistance in any areas of expertise it has.

Instead, its involvement would be more about marketing and brand presence – with it benefiting from an involvement in F1 and Red Bull gaining from the added kudos of a tie-up with a global player like Ford.

A potential Red Bull-Ford tie up would have clear implications for Honda, which has enjoyed the best success of its latest era in F1 over the past two years.

While it has been most strongly linked to Red Bull for the future, it is interesting that the Japanese manufacturer has registered its own entry with the FIA for the 2026 engine rules.

This has left the door open for it to go it alone if Red Bull decides to go down a separate path.

Honda is adamant that nothing has been decided yet about if it will see through on a 2026 entry, which could just be as an engine supplier.

However, there has been speculation in recent days that one other route could be in becoming a works partner, and even owner, of Red Bull’s second team – AlphaTauri.

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/ford ... /10411381/

[DoubleFart]

Thank god they aren't leading it from a PU side. I wouldn't back Ford to do anything as technical as the current PU.

[Aty]

It's getting late for anyone new to start fresh and be ready in 2026.

[Everso Biggyballies]

It's getting late for anyone new to start fresh and be ready in 2026.

Red Bull are already well into the design and development work on the engine..... Im sure Red Bull said they will have their own early version of the 2026 spec engine on the dyno certainly by nowi. (They claimed it was imminent back in May 2022. It isnt be the full motor just a single cylinder version.....Single-cylinder engines are usually used as early prototypes before the real thing is pursued at full scale.

Edit: here is what Horner said in May.

“We are in good shape, we’re on plan,” said Red Bull Racing team principal and CEO Christian Horner Horner when asked by The Race where the Powertrains project has got to.

“The first single cylinder engine will be imminently running for the 2026 rules. We move into the new facility at the end of May. We’ve attracted some fantastic talent into the group.

“So, we’re pleased with progress.”

The new RBPT purpose built facility with the dynos and everything was completed and being moved into and staff in place working in it by July 1st this year and he said that is when the dyno work would commence.

This of course was all said when the Porsche partnership was still going ahead. Apparently the original plan with Porsche was RBPT were going to be doing the design and building of the combustion side of the engines with Porsche providing the Hybrid parts before the deal was benched.

With the Ford deal it seems Ford would be having limited technical input and looking at is as more of a commercial or branding arrangement.... Ford pay a chunk of the development money and get to badge the engine.... a bit like the DFV or as with Porsche and the TAG Heuer branded Porsche build engines McLaren used in the eighties.

[MonteCristo]

Come back to Indycar first, please... sigh.

[Nononsensecapeesh]

Funny, Ford sold their F1 team to Red Bull, nearly 20 years later....

[Everso Biggyballies]

Funny, Ford sold their F1 team to Red Bull, nearly 20 years later....

Yep, as detailed in the Opening post.... they did a better with their job as an engine supplier with their Cosworth link and funding of the DFV. in a similar marketing focused branding excercise.... although we dont know these engines would be branded Ford. I guess if the money is right RBT would call them anything.

...... Somewhat ironic given that Red Bull was born out of what was previously the official works Ford team, albeit under the Jaguar brand name. Of course historically Ford have been down that engine provider path, albeit Cosworth who became a Ford brand. Ultimately the Cosworth DFV carried Ford branding on the cam covers and it remains one of the most successful and well known engines of all time.

However , Ford undoubtedly made a mess of things in the Jaguar venture, and it must. have burnt their pride to see the success RBR turned their failure into.....

[Nononsensecapeesh]

Funny, Ford sold their F1 team to Red Bull, nearly 20 years later....

Yep, as detailed in the Opening post.... they did a better with their job as an engine supplier with their Cosworth link and funding of the DFV. in a similar marketing focused branding excercise.... although we dont know these engines would be branded Ford. I guess if the money is right RBT would call them anything.

...... Somewhat ironic given that Red Bull was born out of what was previously the official works Ford team, albeit under the Jaguar brand name. Of course historically Ford have been down that engine provider path, albeit Cosworth who became a Ford brand. Ultimately the Cosworth DFV carried Ford branding on the cam covers and it remains one of the most successful and well known engines of all time.

However , Ford undoubtedly made a mess of things in the Jaguar venture, and it must. have burnt their pride to see the success RBR turned their failure into.....

Must have overlooked that part somehow.

[erwin greven]

Just read this article to see what went wrong with Jaguar Ford.

We had some very clever individuals from Ford working with us, but they were tied up by Ford’s bureaucracy.

This made it very difficult for them to express themselves and get on with it rather than protecting themselves from the people at Ford – who were themselves just looking after their pensions and being yes men to their superiors.

Most of the problems fell onto my lap, and rightly so. But my way of working was to be hands on and the Ford management warned me off that, making it clear my job was to manage and not get too closely involved. This was the Ford way, apparently.

One of its head honchos came into one of our engineering meetings in Milton Keynes and his first words to 20 or so engineers was ‘you will do it the Ford way or we will get someone else that will’. A statement like that is exactly what you need for motivation…

[Nononsensecapeesh]

Just read this article to see what went wrong with Jaguar Ford.

We had some very clever individuals from Ford working with us, but they were tied up by Ford’s bureaucracy.

This made it very difficult for them to express themselves and get on with it rather than protecting themselves from the people at Ford – who were themselves just looking after their pensions and being yes men to their superiors.

Most of the problems fell onto my lap, and rightly so. But my way of working was to be hands on and the Ford management warned me off that, making it clear my job was to manage and not get too closely involved. This was the Ford way, apparently.

One of its head honchos came into one of our engineering meetings in Milton Keynes and his first words to 20 or so engineers was ‘you will do it the Ford way or we will get someone else that will’. A statement like that is exactly what you need for motivation…

That explains a lot.

Think I've read something like that before.

[Everso Biggyballies]

Ford using drag racing tech in F1 engine development


Interesting article, if not a bit technical, that outlines some of Fords plans and strategies in their partnership with Red Bull to build their (and Racing Bulls / the team formerly known as Alpha Tauri). Initially we all thought this to be more a Ford Marketing job with Ford badges on an RBPT engine with Ford providing a large number of dollars to help fund the project and in return get their name back on an engine.... in a similar way that TAG did with the Porsche Turbo that was so successful in McLarens back in the 80's.

However this article suggests that Ford themselves are taking a very active part in the development and composition of the engine. They have identified their Drag racing project as a source of ideas and technology that could fit F1 and their new 50% electric 50% ICE and sustainable fuel.

Ford using drag racing tech in F1 engine development

Ford Motor Company boss Jim Farley has explained that the American auto giant is using technology from drag racing in the development of its 2026 F1 power unit.

Ford will partner with Red Bull Racing when F1 switches to its next generation of power unit regulations in 2026.

That announcement was made a year ago and sees engineers from both operations working side by side in the development of the new power train.

“We're going back to Formula 1 in a way that we haven't in the past,” Farley said, explaining his decision to lead Ford's F1 return.

“It turns out that the best aerodynamics are in Formula 1, the best telemetry, the best digital diagnostics.

“And actually, we need all those things for electric and digital cars. So it's actually going back to the ‘70s with a pure tech transfer.

“This is not like owning our team; we're going there to literally transfer technology,” he added.

“We can offer battery tech for them, because in '26 they're going to go to like 50 percent electric and they need high discharge batteries – and we do that in NHRA, for example.

“And on the other hand, we can get telemetry, digital diagnostics, as well as aero, which can can put on our production of electric cars to make the battery smaller.

“They are the best in the world in a lot of these technologies and we need them desperately as the car business changes.

“So it's literally like going back to where we were all those years ago; tech transfer.”

Ford has been developing the Mustang Super Cobra Jet 1800, a car it terms “an aggressive revision to the NHRA world record-holding Mustang Cobra Jet 1400.”

The Cobra Jet 1400 completed a standing quarter-mile in 8.128s, or 171.97mph.

Much of the same hardware from the 1400 has migrated into the 1800, including four PN-250-DZR inverters coupled to two double-stacked DS-250-115 motor pairings.

In the 1800, there have been changes to the transmission and battery system, the latter designed by Ford Performance in concert with MLe Racecars.

As part of the F1 project, Farley has spent time at Red Bull Racing's factory in the United Kingdom.

“I had a chance to spend a lot of time with the team in Milton Keynes and with Adrian Newey,” he explained.

“I think we're on track. '26, even though it sounds like a long way away, we have a lot of work to do on the power train, but I'm really happy with the progress.”

With the development of the 2026 F1 power unit well underway, Red Bull Racing boss Christian Horner raised concerns about the ratio of combustion to electrical power in the new rules.

Early simulations suggested that it would necessitate drivers having to downshift on straights and that it would lead to ‘Frankenstein' cars.

“One of the big impacts for 2026 is weight – you're looking at pretty much a 30-kilogram swing on cars that are already approaching sportscar type of weight,” Horner explained.

“There's some very positive things about 2026 and a sustainable fuel and so on is extremely positive.

“But I think that perhaps where we need to pay urgent attention before it's too late is to look at the ratio between combustion power and electrical power to ensure that we're not creating a technical Frankenstein which will require the chassis to compensate to such a degree, with moveable aero to reduce the drag to such a level that the racing will be affected.

“There will be no tow effect, there will be no DRS because effectively you're running at that at all points in time, and that the combustion engine just doesn't become a generator to recharge a battery.

“I think that could easily be addressed with just tuning the ratio between combustion and electrical power.”

Other manufacturers do not share Horner's concern, with his calls for change falling on deaf ears.

As is the way in F1, the comments instead sparked speculation that the Red Bull/Ford project was behind the eight ball.

Increased electrification (by around three times) is just one of the ambitions of F1's 2026 rules.

It also plans to end the burning of fossil carbon fuel and instead use fully sustainable fuels as power is predicted to rise to over 1000bhp from the 1.6-litre V6 turbocharged engines.

The MGU-K will be enclosed within the chassis, alongside the battery and control electronics, making the cars safer, while the MGU-H will be done away with entirely, bringing down costs.

There will also be a list of standardised components and a limit on the number of power units teams can use per car, per season, and cost caps on development.

Combined, those changes have proved enough to lure Ford into the fray, alongside Audi and General Motors, which has registered its interest as a power unit manufacturer.

Ferrari, Mercedes, Renault, and Honda are all set to remain, the latter swapping its allegiance from Red Bull Racing to Aston Martin.

https://speedcafe.com/ford-using-drag-r ... velopment/

[Aty]

I am confused. Is it going to be Ford, or Horner's own PU in RBR plant? The same for AM. Boasting for many months how their new engine plant is a world showcase, and now it is Honda with PU built in Japan.

[Everso Biggyballies]

I am confused. Is it going to be Ford, or Horner's own PU in RBR plant? The same for AM. Boasting for many months how their new engine plant is a world showcase, and now it is Honda with PU built in Japan.

I believe the engine will be built in the RBPT engine plant, but with Ford people involved in the technology and indeed Ford involved in writing cheques to fund the development. In return although I have not seen it confirmed I imagine the badges on the engine will be Ford branded. In the same way the Cosworth DFV were with a handful of exceptions branded Ford. Cosworth built the engines with the help of a Ford cheque to develop it. Same with the Porsche built TAG Heuer branded and funded engine development.

Equally I am sure the Aston Martin enine will be branded Honda. AM have said they are partnering with Honda, but Honda wont be doing it for no exposure. I imagine the Honda engine in the AM wil be branded such..

Aston openly said that continuing to use Mercedes engines as a customer whilst Mercedes are also trying to win is not sustainable. Two teams wanting to win, one the provider and one the customer.... in their words. "The nature of F1 is, if you want to win, it means beating Mercedes and it's extremely difficult to beat an organisation as good as Mercedes if you're reliant on them for intellectual property, facilities and components." it's very difficult to win consistently championships without a full works relationship, which is why we have made this decision and why we are delighted to have a fantastic partner like Honda."

From Honda's POV they reference F1's engine regulations for 2026, which include the use of sustainable fuels and a more powerful energy recovery system, as its motivation for staying in the sport.

Global CEO Toshihiro Mibe said:

"One of the key reasons for our decision to take up the new challenge in F1 is that the world's pinnacle form of racing is striving to become a sustainable racing series, which is in line with the direction Honda is aiming toward carbon neutrality, and it will become a platform which will facilitate the development of our electrification technologies."