Red Bull surprised on Friday with the announcement that they will enter into a partnership with the American manufacturer Ford from 2026. This will be a technical partnership, as evidenced by the FIA engine nominations published today. “Red Bull Ford” is officially registered there as an engine manufacturer from 2026.
Red Bull had announced its own engine department called Red Bull Powertrains after the exit of engine partner Honda. This should continue to produce engines in 2026. This means that the team will not purchase pure drives from Ford, but will produce engines independently – with the help of the Americans.
“I think it’s an enrichment for us strategically,” says team boss Christian Horner. “Could we have done it without Ford? Yes. But does it make us better with Ford? Definitely,” he emphasizes. “They are like-minded in their approach. It’s a commercial and technical exchange and we’re very happy with the outcome.”
But how big will Ford’s share in the new engine actually be? Scoffers might see it as a pure Red Bull engine with only Ford branding slapped on it. That would be nothing new for Red Bull: the current engine under the Red Bull Powertrains label is actually a Honda, and the Renault drive was previously called TAG Heuer.
However, Horner emphasizes that Ford will very well have a part: “I think that in the next three years there will be a lively exchange of knowledge, especially in the area of electric vehicles, and Ford has invested billions of dollars in electrifying some of its products.” , he says.
“It’s all about technical cooperation”
The battery is expected to play a key role in 2026, “and we felt we had a weak spot in that area,” Horner said. “But I believe that by partnering with Ford, we’re able to be on an equal footing with the other manufacturers without having this weakness given Ford’s size, depth and strength.”
But Horner doesn’t want to see the fact that Ford simply covers the battery area while Red Bull takes care of the combustion side: “I don’t think it’s that simple,” he says. “It’s about technical collaboration between the companies and there might be a combustion technology that we can benefit from too.”
“I think it’s an exchange of information and ideas, and especially with the challenge that 2026 brings, that can only be beneficial when you think of the hundreds of thousands of people who work at Ford work, and to the thousands and thousands who work in research and development.”