This article is part of ours Origin Stories series, an inside look at the stories of clubs, drivers and people who drive this sport.
On his way to Brazil at the end of the 2022 season, Red Bull Formula 1 boss Christian Horner stopped in the United States for a meeting that could decide the future of his team.
A few months earlier, talks on establishing a partnership with Porsche had broken down. Red Bull was keen to find a new manufacturer partner to support its in-house engine program, Red Bull Powertrains, established after Honda's departure from F1 at the end of 2021.
Horner was sitting in an office at the Ford Motor Company headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan, to attend an important meeting. Discussions about F1 the project started with Mark Rushbrook, Ford's head of motorsport, and seemed to be going well.
But Bill Ford, the company's president and great-grandson of its legendary founder Henry Ford, and Jim Farley, the company's president and CEO, also attended the meeting. The stakes were much higher.
Horner's positive premonitions were quickly confirmed. “I thought we were in good shape when Jim came into the match wearing a Sergio Pérez cap,” he recalled in July this year. “(I thought) 'OK, we look pretty good here!'”
This paved the way for Red Bull and Ford to agree a partnership that will begin in 2026 when new F1 engine regulations are introduced. The merger will bring the American automotive giant back to the F1 grid after an absence of more than two decades. Ford's last partnership ended in 2004 when he sold his Jaguar team to Red Bull.
Although 2026 is still a few years away, the Red Bull Ford partnership is already working at a fast pace, aware of the importance of new regulations and the scale of the project.
“Together with Ford we have to succeed,” Horner said. “We cannot afford for this project to fail.”
Red Bull and Honda's successful partnership ends after the 2025 season. (Mark Thompson/Getty Images)
Controlling your destiny
In October 2020, just 18 months after its first race as Red Bull's engine partner, Honda announced that it would leave F1 at the end of the 2021 season.
A shock decision made to cut costs and switch to electrification – and ultimately reversed three years later when it signed a contract with Aston Martin starting in 2026 – left Red Bull at a crossroads. Trying to buy engines from F1's main rivals, Ferrari or Mercedes, would be awkward. Returning to the previous partner, Renault, was not a profitable move. Renault's poor performance since 2014 has sparked public frustration with Red Bull.
So why not go it alone? Red Bull began to investigate what it would take to create its own F1 engine. It would be a significant investment, but one that would give Red Bull control over its own destiny rather than relying on a partner who, as Honda has proven, can withdraw from F1 at any time.
“We finally decided that if we were going to do it, we might as well do the whole thing,” Horner said.
Although Red Bull was successful as an F1 team, it did not have the technical power or existing knowledge base of its manufacturer rivals when it came to power unit production. Horner said it quickly became clear that strategically it would be better to work with the automaker. “Because as an independent manufacturer you lose the advantages that Ferrari, Mercedes or Honda technically have – which have changed their minds.”
It looked like Porsche would be Red Bull's partner of choice in F1. The Volkswagen Group wanted to bring the brand back to F1 by 2026 to highlight its rich motorsport heritage, including its dominance in F1 with McLaren in the mid-1980s. Talks reached a successful conclusion in the summer of 2022, but negotiations ultimately broke down. Porsche tried to take over the shares, but Horner said Red Bull “wasn't the right path for this business.”
This left Red Bull back in first place in the search for a manufacturer partner. Then Horner, who said he was a “great believer in fate,” received an email from Rushbrook that changed everything. Ford wanted to return to F1. Would Red Bull be interested in talking?
“It happened very, very quickly,” Horner said.
Jim Farley, Ford CEO, Ford's Mark Rushbrook and Max Verstappen talk in the garage ahead of the 2023 Miami GP. (Mark Thompson/Getty Images)
Right place, right time
In 2026, the attractiveness of F1 for manufacturers has increased significantly. The proposed powertrain regulations were more aligned with global automotive trends with a greater emphasis on electrification and fully sustainable fuels. At the same time, the increase in popularity of off-track products has made their marketing attractiveness greater than ever.
Mercedes and Ferrari were already at the start. Honda planned to come back with Aston Martin. Audi announced its entry for 2026. Now Ford also wanted to join the fight.
“When we saw what was happening in Formula 1 with the technical regulations, it was very consistent, which gave us greater opportunities to contribute and learn about the innovation and technology transfer involved,” Rushbrook said. “But certainly also the health of the sport, its popularity around the world and the diversity of its audience.”
Then the question arose How Ford will enter F1. Many options were considered, including purchasing the team, as Audi had done with Sauber, or creating a power unit division from scratch. Both would be very expensive ventures, and Ford's previous struggles with Jaguar ownership showed that running an F1 business was not its forte. In five seasons, the team finished on the podium only twice before being sold to Red Bull at the end of 2004.
The team's purchase also did not fit with Ford's broader motorsport model.
“Yes, we are in the motorsports business, but we don't own or run a team anywhere,” Rushbrook said. “We always work with partners, whether it's Dick Johnson Racing in Australia (Supercars) or Penske NASCAR or M-Sport in the rally.”
The moment was perfect for starting talks with Red Bull. Upon learning that the Porsche deal had been canceled, Rushbrook obtained Horner's email address and sent the email mid-flight, promptly completing the deal.
“We had six months of talks with Porsche. It didn't work out,” Horner said. “I think it was literally 12 weeks from start to finish to signing (with Ford). After initial conversations with Mark, then Jim Farley and Bill Ford, basically at the end of '22 the decision was made that this was the right way to go.”
The new partnership, announced in February 2023 and coinciding with the Red Bull season opener, confirmed Ford's commitment to the next powertrain regulatory cycle, spanning 2026-2030.
The agreement is beneficial to both parties. Ford returns to F1 after 22 years with a winning team, benefiting from technology transfer – F1 serves as a high-speed laboratory for future road car innovations – as well as F1's marketing power, without the responsibility of a team or a complete engine program. It will also be the only American manufacturer on the F1 network at a time when the sport is booming in the United States.
And for Ford, Red Bull will gain a partner with the knowledge and resources that could help its nascent engine program try to compete with the experience of Ferrari and Mercedes from the start.
Red Bull's Christian Horner and Ford's Jim Farley speak at Red Bull's 2023 season opener in New York. (Arturo Holmes/Getty Images for Oracle Red Bull Racing)
The partnership is already in motion
Red Bull Ford's first powertrain won't race in F1 for another 18 months, but that doesn't stop both sides from accelerating their partnership.
The importance of the regulation revision in 2026, as the integration of the power unit into the car should have a huge impact on the team's performance, this means that it is already a priority for F1 manufacturers.
“Although '26 probably seems quite far away for fans, you will have to make decisions regarding race engines in the coming months,” Horner said. “It's literally tomorrow for design teams.”
As a result, Red Bull Powertrains is expanding rapidly, with a significant increase in recruitment, including a number of staff from its competitive F1 engine programs, and the construction of two new buildings on its Milton Keynes campus entirely dedicated to the 2026 program. Initial deliveries of Red powertrains Bull Ford will be dedicated to two Red Bull teams, Red Bull and RB, but the facility has been built to accommodate a further two customer teams. Apart from Ferrari, Red Bull is the only other team in F1 whose team and engine staff are co-located.
While there is no Ford logo on the Red Bull F1 car – the current engines are still Honda's intellectual property and the technical agreement runs until the end of 2025 – their marketing efforts are already underway. Max Verstappen and Sergio Pérez have already taken part in demonstration events driving Ford cars. In July, Pérez drove the Ford Red Bull SuperVan, a fully electric van with over 1,400 horsepower, up the famous Goodwood Hill climb. Ford is also supporting one of Red Bull's entries into F1 Academy, a women-only support series, and earlier this month named Chloe Chambers as a driver for 2025. Even the road cars used by Red Bull team members on race weekends are Fords.
The true success of the Red Bull-Ford partnership will be determined in 2026, when an early engine advantage could prove crucial. Mercedes proved this at the start of the V6 hybrid era in 2014, when it went on a record eight-year run of constructors' titles and dominated that era of F1.
Horner said he has “no illusions” that Red Bull and Ford will face a major challenge in 2026, noting the “decades of experience” of companies such as Mercedes and Ferrari in F1 engine designs.
“We have three years of experience,” Horner said. “But we have a lot of passion, great people, great facilities, great partners and all the attitude that has served us so well during our 120 race wins so far.
“It will be hugely satisfying to add to that number an engine that has been designed, built and manufactured right here in Milton Keynes.”
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(Top photo of Christian Horner: Seth Wenig/AP)
