Why Red Bull Partnership Made Sense For Ford F1 Entry

In less than one year, the new Ford F1 collaboration will hit the track for the first time. The Blue Oval partnered with Red Bull Racing (RBR) to make it happen, contributing engine tech and 3D-printed parts to the competitive endeavor. However, before Ford put pen to paper, the automaker weighed its options and ultimately determined that the RBR partnership made the most sense for its F1 efforts.

According to a report from Motorsport, the Ford F1 effort almost took a very different path. RBR was in talks with Porsche to supply its power units, but the deal ultimately fell through as RBR feared losing control of the team and its decision making. Ford Performance head Mark Rushbrook was aware of the ill-fated negotiations, which thankfully opened a door for The Blue Oval to step in. All it took was am email.

“It became very clear that, at least from what we saw from the outside, that it was not going to work for Red Bull with Porsche,” Rushbrook told Motorsport. “I literally got Christian Horner’s email address, sent him an email and said ‘Hi, do you want to talk?’”

Interestingly, Ford has some history with Red Bull in F1. The automaker actually sold its former F1 Jaguar team to Red Bull in 2004. And with a new set of regulations set to shake up the F1 scene in 2026, Ford saw it as the perfect opportunity to join the grid.

“If you would have asked me five years ago, and actually people did ask me, ‘Is Ford going to get back into Formula 1?’ then my answer was no,” Rushbrook said. “At the time we didn’t think that F1 was the right place for us, but certainly things have changed afterwards.”

Had the RBR deal not worked out, the Ford F1 effort might have seen the automaker purchasing its own team – which was a strong possibility. While there are a fair number of challenges facing RBR and Ford next year, the automaker is confident in the collab, calling it a “true partnership,” something RBR would not have had with Porsche.