Christian Horner says other teams are talking to Ford

A new chapter is opening for Red Bull in 2026. For the first time in their history in Formula 1, the Milton Keynes team will produce their own engines thanks to a technical agreement concluded with Ford. This transition marks the departure of Honda, who will join Aston Martin. The return of Ford to Formula 1, two decades after their venture with Jaguar, which was later acquired by Red Bull Racing, intrigues and interests several Formula 1 teams, according to Christian Horner’s statements.

« We have already been approached by various parties. But for the moment, our focus is entirely on the two Red Bull teams, because we want to learn to walk before we run,” the 50-year-old man told Motorsport.nl. The director of the Austrian team acknowledges that this partnership presents challenges, notably due to Ford’s absence in F1 since the early 2000s and the fact that Red Bull has never produced its own power units. Despite this, he remains confident about the success of the project in the next regulatory cycle.

« Regarding the engine, we are following an aggressive curve as we are a brand-new engine manufacturer. However, the team is really rising to this challenge. Our facilities are complete, both in terms of testing and development, with test benches and tuning rooms, as well as production capabilities. We are facing a steep learning curve ahead of us, but we are following it and we are where we expected to be at this stage.

Unlike Mercedes and Ferrari, Red Bull initially focuses on incorporating the new Ford engine into its own teams. However, the door is not completely closed to supplying other teams in the future, such as McLaren, which could be interested once its contract with Mercedes ends in 2030.

If something comes up later on, we are open to the right partner. With the facilities we have here, we can supply engines to four teams. It is not a problem in terms of supply. In the future, as I said, we are open to it, but in the short term, our focus is on the two Red Bull Racing teams,” explained Christian Horner.

A project not only financial

In 2022, Red Bull seemed to have reached an agreement with another manufacturer: Porsche. The announcement was supposed to be made official during the Austrian Grand Prix, which is Red Bull’s home race, but this agreement never left the team’s offices. The top officials of the team, led by team principal Christian Horner, were not very inclined to approve this partnership, considering that it would have diminished their autonomy, as the German manufacturer at the time wanted to buy all or at least part of the brand.

As soon as the discussions with Porsche failed, Ford seized the opportunity, and an agreement was reached after a few weeks of negotiations. Initially, Ford was only supposed to support Red Bull Powertrains financially and technically for the electrical components.

However, their involvement has evolved to include the internal combustion engine and turbo, as noted by Mark Rushbrook, a senior official at Ford Motorsports: « The internal combustion engine and turbo were not on the initial list, but we have a lot of expertise in modeling and testing that can help us. But we are mainly focusing on electrification, it’s a great opportunity. »

Even if we do not know at the moment whether the Red Bull-Ford project will be successful, this alliance between the two would allow Red Bull to bring together all of its departments in the same place, becoming the second team to achieve this feat after Ferrari, which has its engine and chassis department in its Maranello factory.

Some Ford employees are already present in the Red Bull factory in Milton Keynes and are working hard to prepare for the new engines in 2026. Red Bull faces many challenges in 2026. In the meantime, it still needs to secure the driver and constructor titles this year, titles that are far from guaranteed.