Red Bull’s tie-up with Ford for the 2026 season was rumoured long before it was announced. Early speculative reports gave differing accounts of what the nature of their relationship might be.
Would Ford would opt for the less expensive option of branding an engine developed by Red Bull? Or bear the heavier financial burden of contributing to the research and development of the complicated new power units for 2026?
Plus, what would be the role of the Red Bull Powertrains division, which was constructed by the team at its Milton Keynes base following the departure of its last manufacturer partner, Honda, at the end of 2021?
Friday’s announcement has shed more light on how the reigning world champion Formula 1 team and car-making giant will collaborate on a new power unit for 2026. Ford will not develop an entire 2026 F1 motor single-handedly, but will “provide technical expertise in all areas where it can add value,” the manufacturer said in a statement as the arrangement was made public yesterday.
Ford Performance Motorsport global director Mark Rushbrook explained more in a later briefing to media including RaceFans. The engine will be built to F1’s new power unit regulations for 2026, which will require the use of sustainable fuel and increase the power of the MGU-K, while removing the MGU-H.
Red Bull has already started work on the new engine but there are still three years left during which Ford will contribute development effort before it races. Together they form one of the six manufacturers which have committed to the new engine regulations, which will be in place at least from 2026 to 2030, and their power units will be used by both Red Bull and its junior team, AlphaTauri.
“It is an eight-year agreement,” Ford Performance Motorsport global director Mark Rushbrook explained. “We’ll co-develop, together as Red Bull Ford Powertrains, the new power unit across these three years. And we’ll obviously keep developing as we race in ’26 to 2030 with the Red Bull-Ford powering the Red Bull Racing cars and the AlphaTauri cars.”
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Having teamed up with the reigning champions, Ford are under no illusions that the engine they co-produce is expected to be a race-winning proposition from the start.
“In terms of the technical collaboration, we’re full partners on that. So whatever we can do with Red Bull resources and Ford Motor Company [and]…
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