From the first conversation Mark Rushbrook had with Oracle Red Bull Racing principal Christian Horner during the latter months of 2022, the Ford executive knew he had found the ideal team to help bring the American car company back to Formula One after a prolonged absence. More conversations ensued, which only strengthened Rushbrook’s belief that Red Bull was the right fit.
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Eventually, the sides agreed to terms, clearing the path for Ford to return to F1 in a big way. On Friday morning, it was announced that, beginning in 2026, Ford would partner with Red Bull to supply power units to the team. The announcement was made in New York, in conjunction with Red Bull unveiling the car design it will use in 2023 to defend its championships.
“From the very first discussion, my first question to Christian was, ‘What is Red Bull looking for in a partner? What do you want from any manufacturer?’ And Christian asked the same question in reverse,” Rushbrook, the global director of Ford Performance Motorsports, told The Athletic. “It wasn’t a sale shop. I think it was just a frank, open, honest discussion that revealed that we had a common interest and we can complement each other. Then it just built from there.”
The contract between Ford and Red Bull is for at least eight years, with Ford beginning work immediately on the development of the power unit that Red Bull will eventually use in three years. Ford will also supply power units to Alpha Tauri, Red Bull’s sister team, in addition to providing technical expertise in several areas, including battery-cell technology, electric-motor and power-unit control software, and analytics.
“As a team, they’re committed to winning, and they’ve demonstrated that they are capable of winning,” Rushbrook said. “And we want to be in motorsports, yes, for the technology, for the marketing, but we want to do it winning and with the right partner. They’re committed to that, they have a winning culture, the leadership team. … You want to be with the right team, for sure.”
Red Bull has been seeking a new engine supplier since Honda withdrew from F1 following the 2021 season. Although the team had successfully used its own-badged engines to win both championships in 2022, the engines remain the intellectual property of Honda, which agreed to maintain and support the powerplants up until the 2026 season, when F1 is introducing new technical configurations. Come 2026, Red Bull was going to need a new partner. That’s why, last year, the team began talking to Porsche to fill that role.
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Those talks fell through, however, opening the door for Ford. Because, while Red Bull and Porsche were doing their dalliance, Rushbrook had been exploring an entry point for Ford to return to F1, as conversations with other teams had already occurred by the time he first connected with Red Bull.
“We don’t necessarily go racing only for technology or only for marketing reasons, we go for both,” Rushbrook said. “And the sport has advanced in both of those areas, and it’s the right time for us to get in and get that technical learning and to be able to tell on the global stage the story of our company.
“Then if you look at the sport, it’s also the right time in the sense that they continue to put a great product on the track, great racing, but also growing their fan base with the success of (Netflix docu-series) ‘Drive to Survive’ and reaching a more global, more diverse fan base than ever before.”
Ford sought a team that could vie for wins and championships, while Red Bull wanted a supplier that would allow the team autonomy to make decisions as it best saw fit without having to navigate the layers of bureaucracy that typically come with taking on a 50-50 partner. And being involved in the team operations side is something Rushbrook wanted to avoid, learning from an expensive misstep Ford made in the early 2000s when it deviated from a strategy it had used to great success.
Ford has a long, rich history of competing in F1, primarily through its partnership with Cosworth Engineering to build engines. Ford Cosworth DFV engines dominated F1 from the late 1960s into the 1990s, winning 176 races, 13 driver championships and 10 constructor championships. But the Detroit-based car maker decided in 2000 to expand beyond just supplying engines to owning a team itself, purchasing Stewart Grand Prix in 2000 and operating that team under Jaguar branding.
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Never did Ford enjoy anywhere close to the success it was accustomed to, failing to score a win, earning just two podium finishes and placing no better than seventh in the constructor’s championship. Within the company, the decision to own a team was second-guessed. The team was eventually sold to Red Bull after the 2004 season concluded. Ford then exited F1 entirely and has not competed in any facet since, instead choosing to focus its efforts on NASCAR, sports cars and the World Rally Championship. The door was never completely shut on returning to F1, but only if the right opportunity emerged.
Red Bull presented that opportunity.
“In the discussions as we went along this journey, it was definitely, ‘Let’s not repeat the mistakes of the past,’” Rushbrook said. “And one of those mistakes was Ford owning a Formula One team. That’s not our expertise.”
A lot has changed with F1 since Ford was last involved; most notably how popular it’s become within the United States. In large part because of the popular “Drive to Survive,” interest in F1 has skyrocketed, tapping into what for so long had been largely an indifferent marketplace. The demand is now such that the U.S. will be the only country to host three races in 2023 — in Miami; Austin, Texas; and Las Vegas. The burgeoning popularity hasn’t gone unnoticed in Detroit. Rushbrook witnessed that explosion firsthand when he attended the United States Grand Prix in Austin last October.
Coinciding with the interest from the general public is renewed interest from auto manufacturers. Though there are just four engine builders presently entered in F1 (Red Bull/Honda, Ferrari, Mercedes and Renault), this number is going to expand in the coming years. In addition to Ford, Audi is partnering with the Sauber team to enter the series in 2026. And Porsche and General Motors (through its Cadillac brand) have expressed serious interest in participating, intrigued by F1’s shift to fully sustainable fuel beginning in 2026.
But there are no guarantees that Ford and GM will see their long-standing rivalry extend to the F1 track. Cadillac is supporting the efforts of Michael Andretti to secure a new franchise, but his candidacy is facing many hurdles, with tepid response among many current team principals who don’t want to see a new team cut into their profit margins.
Time will tell if Andretti is awarded a team, but Ford’s reentry in 2026 assures the presence of at least one F1 team on the grid badged by an American car company.
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“I’m excited to get going on this power unit now, and then I can’t wait to see it racing in 2026,” Rushbrook said. “I’m personally invested in Ford and in motorsports and everywhere that we race. And this is going to be another great chapter. Big step for the company and for our team. Can’t wait.”
(Photo of Red Bull’s Christian Horner and Max Verstappen: Ben Stansall /AFP via Getty Images)