F1 | Ford: “Good progress for 2026, with RB we have the best”

The American car manufacturer has signed an agreement with the Milton Keynes-based team to work on the new engine for the 2026 regulatory cycle which will be prepared by the Red Bull Powertrains division.

Ford was chosen because it offers the exact kind of battery expertise Red Bull needs for the new regulations that come into force in two years, where electric energy will account for around 50% of the Power Unit's overall output .

At the launch of the 2024 season of the Ford Performance Motorsport division on Wednesday evening, CEO Jim Farley provided an update on the progress made, saying he was extremely optimistic about the progress made.

“I've had the opportunity to spend a lot of time with the team in Milton Keynes and with Adrian Newey and I think we're on the right track,” he said on stage at the event in Charlotte, North Carolina.

“2026, although it seems very far away, is a year in which we have a lot of work to do behind the scenes, but I am very satisfied with the progress we have made. I wish I could tell you more, but I would say we are on the right track.”

While Ford's tie-up with Red Bull marks a return to F1 for the first time since the early 2000s, when the American company supplied engines to Jordan and Jaguar before being sold in 2004, Farley says the his return to the top open-wheel competition this time has a totally different approach.

Farley pointed out that, with Formula 1 regulations increasingly moving towards electric technology sold to consumers, the opportunities for direct technical transfer from track to road is something not seen since the 1970s.

“We are returning to F1 in a way that we haven't done in the past. It turns out that the best aerodynamics in the world is Formula 1, the best telemetry and the best digital diagnostics. And, in reality, we need all these things for electric cars It is therefore a return to the 70s with a pure transfer of technology.”

“It's not like owning our own team. We're going there to literally transfer the technology. We can offer them the battery technology, because in 2026 they will move to 50% power coming from the electric part and they will need high-performance batteries. We do that , for example, in the NHRA [il campionato di drag racing]”.

RB Ford concept

“And, on the other hand, we can get telemetry, digital diagnosis and aerodynamic values, which we can put into our electric car production to make the battery smaller.”

Farley added that Red Bull's level of knowledge and technology is exactly what Ford needs to become the electric car market leader. “They are the best in the world in many of these technologies and we desperately need them as the automotive industry is changing. It's literally like going back to where we were all those years ago: technology transfer.”

But Ford's move to F1 isn't just about acquiring and transferring data and technology. Farley naturally underlined how the goal is also to win on the track: “We have the best team in the world. We have the best drivers and the best technical support. We have the best of Ford around the world to support them. But the Powertrain team they are building in Milton Keynes is absolutely first class. We will go first class to the top step of the podium.”