Will Red Bull join forces with Ford? Americans consider a return to F1, Horner and Rushbrook comment on speculation

Speculation has recently been rife across the queen of motorsport that the Red Bull Racing team could join forces with Ford from 2026, when new power unit rules come into force. But those speculations were commented on by the Ford boss himself a few dozen hours ago.

Will we see Ford return to Formula 1? That is currently one of the questions, but one that will probably only be answered in the distant future. And if so, it would reportedly be an alliance with the Red Bull Racing team.

Porsche is history, Honda and Ford in the game

In the previous months, it already looked like the Austrian stable would enter into a partnership with another famous car company – Porsche. However, that didn’t happen, with Red Bull eventually backing out of the potential deal.

It should be noted, there is still a lot of speculation surrounding Red Bull and its powertrains. These are linked, for example, to a possible return of Honda to F1, but also to the fact that Red Bull could have its own factory in operation from 2026, called Red Bull Powertrains.

Recently, however, Ford has also entered the picture, whose efforts to return to Formula 1 are perfectly logical from a sporting, political and marketing point of view.

Ford in F1

The American carmaker was last officially active in the queen of motorsport between 2000 and 2004 (this was a partnership with Jaguar – ed.), but the team never achieved the success it had hoped for.

Ford also supplied Cosworth engines to the Jordan team in 2003 and 2004 under a separate deal.

Extending the collaboration beyond the WRC?

Whether Ford will return to F1 as a partner of Red Bull is very unclear at the moment. However, it should be noted that the two companies already have one very well-known partnership.

In fact, the famous energy drink manufacturer is the main partner of the Ford team in the WRC. However, if the extension of the cooperation does take place, it should be a looser partnership. The main reason Red Bull ended negotiations with Porsche was that they didn’t want to lose 100% control of the team. And now they’re not even interested in buying a stake.

Christian Horner’s statement

“We are fully focused on the Red Bull power unit, and if there is a like-minded partner who could contribute something to the project, then of course it would have to be considered unconditionally. But it’s not a prerequisite,” commented the Red Bull boss, quoted by Motorsport.

“We will be the only team other than Ferrari to have the engine and chassis in one facility under one roof. We are convinced that this is absolutely the right thing to do for the long-term competitiveness of the team. And, of course, it also brings other possibilities,” Horner added.

Ford boss’ reaction

Ford Performance Global CEO Mark Rushbrook did not confirm or deny the widespread speculation. He said the following in a recent media interview with NASCAR, in which the manufacturer competes.

“It should be clear that we’re here to talk about NASCAR. We’re focused on this competition. It’s certainly true that there’s a lot of speculation about it, but that’s not something we’re responding to in a substantive way, ” Rushbrook said.

F1, Motorsport, NASCAR