Ford Considered Buying F1 Team Before Red Bull Talks: Report

Ford shocked the world early last year when it announced that it would be returning to Formula 1 racing via a power unit partnership with Oracle Red Bull Racing, starting with the 2026 season. However, that opportunity only came about after Porsche backed out of its own deal with that same team, as Ford Authority previously reported, and after that partnership fell apart, the proverbial stars aligned for The Blue Oval to swoop in and take advantage. However, it seems as if Ford was considering another avenue altogether prior to its budding Red Bull partnership.

According to a new report from The Athletic, Ford was exploring a variety of ways that it could re-enter F1 – which included actually buying a team, as Audi did with Sauber. The Blue Oval also considered developing its own power unit division from scratch, though it ultimately determined that either avenue would be quite costly. Additionally, Ford’s experience owning Jaguar taught it that running an entire F1 team wasn’t exactly its strong suit, as in five seasons, that team scored just two podium finishes before it was sold to Red Bull at the conclusion of 2004. Additionally, owning a team doesn’t really fit Ford’s motorsports model these days, either.

“Yes, we’re in motorsports, but nowhere do we own or run the team,” Ford Performance Global Director Mark Rushbrook said. “We always go with partners, whether it’s Dick Johnson Racing in Australia (Supercars), or Penske in NASCAR, or M-Sport in rally.” Regardless, when Red Bull and Porsche’s talks fell apart, Rushbrook was able to swoop in, email Team Principal Christian Horner, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Since then, Ford has expanded its involvement in the new power unit development with Red Bull, though it isn’t asking for direct oversight into that process, as Porsche reportedly did, even though there’s obviously a lot riding on its success. At the same time, Ford and Red Bull continue to team up in various other ways, with the automaker recently extending its status as the as title partner for the Red Bull Academy in 2025.