Ford offer progress update as Red Bull partnership builds ahead of F1 2026

Ford have said they are finding “more and more areas of opportunity” with Red Bull with every meeting, as they gear up to become partners from 2026.

The global automotive giants are going to partner up with the newly-formed Red Bull Powertrains when Formula 1’s technical regulations reset from the 2026 season, and Honda’s existing partnership with the team expires.

Honda had kept their names on the entry sheet for 2026 without a partner entry, before agreeing terms to become factory suppliers to Aston Martin last month.

Ford and Red Bull announced their tie-up back in February, ahead of the launch of the RB19 in New York City, which will see members of Ford staff based at the Red Bull Powertrains base in Milton Keynes, which broke ground on construction in 2021.

While they are not in talks every day while the season is in full swing, Ford are pleased with the progress that is being made ahead of their partnership beginning in 2026 – for which they say “all resources are on deck.”

“The partnership with as Red Bull for powertrains, it’s been fantastic,” Ford’s global director of motorsport Mark Rushbrook told Speedcafe.

“We had some initial ideas of where we would have tech transfer and the opportunity to contribute to that programme which was already, I think, a good list.

“Not necessarily every day, but every discussion and every visit, we identify more and more areas of opportunity, so we’re really happy with it. It’s progressing very well.

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“2026, while to many it may seem like it’s a long way away, for that programme it’s not very far away and still clearly a lot of work to do – but they’re great partners.

“We love, from the very first discussion with them to signing the agreement, to what we have today.

“It’s an all-in effort; they want to win, we want to win, and all resources are on deck for that.”

Red Bull-Ford will be one of six different factory teams on the grid from the 2026 season, along with Mercedes, Alpine (via Renault), Aston Martin-Honda, Ferrari and Audi, when they complete their majority takeover of the Sauber team currently running as Alfa Romeo.