Ford Performance is gearing up for its return to the F1 scene, supplying engine tech to Red Bull Racing (RBR) through its partnership with the longstanding team set to kick off in 2026. While the start of the next season may seem like it’s still a long way off, engine unit production is in full swing, and The Blue Oval is accelerating its efforts to help get RBR power units off the line in time for the first green flag.
According to a report from Motorsport, Ford Performance head Mark Rushbrook is thrilled with the progression of the F1 power unit production. He says that the RBR join-up is already successful as Ford produces engine parts for the team with sights set on success in 2026.
“It just continues to grow stronger every day,” Rushbrook told Motorsport. “Ever since the very first discussion leading to signing the contract – and to be honest, work already started before the contract was signed.”
While Ford Performance is not a full works team – meaning that it does not build its own power units start to finish – it still has a big hand in the tech that goes into said engines. In fact, The Blue Oval is contributing more than it initially set out to.
“The initial focus or agreement was mostly on the electrification side,” Rushbrook said. “But in terms of the number of components that we’re able to build within our advanced manufacturing facility and with our printing machines, it has become more than that and we’re able to contribute real-time in the development phase.”
He added, “We’re literally making parts every day and shipping parts from Dearborn every day that are being tested in the labs in Milton Keynes. Many of those will actually go into production as well.”
As a reminder, The Blue Oval is producing engine parts with 3D printing technology, and Ford Performance estimates that it’s already built over 1,000 individual parts for partnership with RBR. However, it’s interesting to note that Ford’s crosstown rival, General Motors, recently received official approval as a power unit manufacturer, meaning that the engines it brings to the grid by the end of the decade will be built fully in-house, unlike Ford’s approach to F1 racing.
Plus, the employee pricing program remains available nationwide.
Helping to ensure one can gain access to the vehicle.
That special benefit ended in mid-2022.
Perhaps the nicest one left.
The company promises that it's a huge improvement over the existing system.
The same engine already present in the Mustang and Explorer.
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Run Max run. Go sign with Mercedes.
It would be interesting to uncover what Red Bull hopes to get out of this "partnership?" Ford seemingly is using this opportunity as an exploration for leveraging developed technologies developed for the mass market.