The Ford F1 team is barreling full-tilt toward the 2026 season with eyes set on dominating the competition. Collaborating with Red Bull Racing, The Blue Oval has already begun developing the race cars’ power units, though Team Principal Chris Horner acknowledges there’s a learning curve with any new venture.
2023 Ford Puma M-Sport race car
In an interview with Motorsport.com, Horner said that things have been going smoothly thus far. However, there’s a glaring problem facing the Ford F1 effort. Simply put, it’s a young venture, and just doesn’t have the decades of development behind it that teams like Ferrari and Mercedes do.
“The collaboration has been fantastic,” Horner told Motorsport. “One of our concerns when we took on this project was that we missed the depth of knowledge compared to Ferrari or Mercedes or any other OEM-owned team. And then this partnership with Ford just naturally happened and that’s just given us such a great collaboration, so much enthusiasm across the different departments that really we’re able to go toe to toe with what our competitors have available to them.”
He added, “I think we have all the strength and depth and all the capabilities. We just don’t have the experience. Of course Ford brings some great experience with them, but this is a brand new project and we’re under no illusions that we’ve got a mountain to climb.”
F1 2026 regulations state that power units must utilize fully synthetic fuels made from sustainable sources, and the FIA requires that more of the engines’ horsepower must come from electric, meaning the balance of power is almost split evenly between the gasoline-powered engine and its electric counterpart.
Despite the fact that the Ford F1 team effort is relatively new and inexperienced, Ford Performance head Mark Rushbrook says it has one big advantage. While other manufacturers are focused on building competitive engines for the current regulations and preparing for 2026, Ford and Red Bull can solely concentrate their efforts on making 2026-compliant power units. Ford is contributing engine tech to the project, and is already producing 3D-printed parts for the race cars.
Comment
Ford like many brands jumps in and out of the various race categories based upon a variety of goals that constantly change over time. Ferrari and others have stayed relatively active in certain racing categories with fewer interruptions, thus shortening their learning curve. It’s amazing that Ford with one year of stumbling and on track learning has been able to rocket to the top of many series. But Red Bull’s concerns are well justified. That is why they still race. If winners were based upon computer modeling, then many would be winners right out of the gate.