A report from the BBC says Ford is ready to announce a return to Formula 1 with Red Bull. The deal allegedly saw the US automaker join the Red Bull team in 2026, working as a partner for Red Bull’s self-designed engines. An official announcement could come on Friday.
According to the report, the news of the announcement was accidentally published by the Ansa news agency and then deleted. Motor1.com contacted Ford regarding the news but no response was received prior to posting this article.
There must be strong supporting evidence that an official announcement is imminent. In mid-December, our racing partners at Motorsport.com reported on rumours that Ford and Red Bull are talking about a partnership at the very least. At the time, the focus was on joining Ford in a marketing and branding role, while possibly offering technical assistance for engine development. Red Bull currently uses Honda engines, but that partnership will end in 2025 as new regulations come into effect for 2026.
Even stronger evidence for the partnership emerged in late January. in a exclusive interview with us Motorsport.com partnersFord Performance Motorsport Director Mark Rushbrook suggested that F1’s growing popularity in the US warranted at least consideration of a return to the series.
What they have done well is create great races and great competition, said Rushbrook. “These are still tops, but they can reach new audiences with things like Drive to Survive. As a company, we are racing for innovation, technology transfer, learning opportunities, but also for marketing reasons. This is shifting for sure, and it definitely requires consideration .
Ford as a company is no stranger to Formula 1, even though it has been a while since Blue Over graced an F1 car. In particular, 2004 was Ford’s final foray into the racing series, ironically selling its operations to Red Bull after the sale of Jaguar. Porsche is also a possible partner for Red Bull in 2026, but talks broke down last year over alleged concerns from the Red Bull team that Porsche wanted too much control over the operation.
