Red Bull announces Ford engine partnership for 2026

Rumours of this huge deal between the reigning F1 world champions and Ford have been floating for a few weeks, but we now finally have confirmation that the American automotive giant will return to F1 for the first time since 2004.

Back then, Ford ran its own team, Jaguar Racing, which it sold to Red Bull at the end of the 2004 season following five years of poor performance. That sale ended a long history in F1 for the marque which not only pulled the plug on the team, but also its connection with Cosworth.

Prior to this alignment with Ford, the Red Bull team had spent the best part of 2022 in discussions with Porsche over a potential power unit deal, although negotiations there eventually fell flat.

This announcement marks a significant moment in the future of Red Bull, whose future in the F1 looked in doubt at one stage following Honda’s decision to leave the sport in 2020. The team even went so far as to create its own power unit manufacturing company – Red Bull Powertrains (RBPT) – intending to use the engines left behind by Honda to continue its participation. However, Honda has since agreed to continue supplying engines for Red Bull until the end of 2025, when this new Ford deal will commence.

Ford is the latest big-name manufacturer to declare its intention to join F1 in 2026. This announcement follows Audi’s partial acquisition of the Sauber team in January, with a view to entering the sport proper when the power unit rules roll in.

Meanwhile, Andretti is keen to succeed in its bid to join the F1 grid, with backing from General Motors through its Cadillac brand.

It seems as though these new regulations, which were intended to entice a larger pool of manufacturers into the sport, are already working their magic.

Needless to say, it will be Ford that is under the most pressure when the lights go out for the first time in 2026. With the expectations of a traditionally difficult to please Red Bull team hanging over the brands head, it will be a baptism of fire.