The history between Ford and Red Bull goes back a long way. Before 2004, the Austrian team was part of Formula One but as the only engine partner. It was after the Ford company decided to sell their Jaguar Racing team due to a few unsuccessful seasons. In 2004, they bought the Jaguar team and entered into the F1 Grid as a proper competitive team. It did not take long for the Milton-Keynes-based team to find success. Instead, Red Bull Racing dominated Formula One Motorsport for a long time.
It was until the Silver Arrows came into the limelight. The Silver Arrows had a firm hegemony till 2020, with Lewis Hamilton breaking and making all sorts of records. In the following year, things started to change again as Red Bull got back the grip on the F1 title with the current champion. The Dutchman Max Verstappen brought back Red Bulls’ glory days, winning back-to-back driver’s championship titles.
Why Did Red Bull Choose Ford Over Honda?
After the glory days were back, Team Principal Christian Horner decided to walk down memory lane. According to Horner, after the Honda team withdrew from the F1 Grid in October 2020 Red Bull team got very concerned about saving their future in Formula One. The group then decided to take control of their engines by building the machines themselves. On February 16, 2021, the team from Milton Keynes founded the Red Bull Powertrains.
So now, the Red Bull team does not have to depend solely on Honda for their engines. They manufacture a lot of their machines with the help of their own manufacturing company. However, Honda still provides them with the necessary support of inputs of the cars and will keep doing so until 2025 as per the new contract. There is speculation that Honda might come back after 2025 to Formula One Motorsport.
Ford Bringing A Special Feature To The Team
On the other hand, Red Bull will have a new engine partner in the form of Ford. Albeit, this partnership is a very technical one, unlike what was the case with Honda. Christian Horner said, “even though the machines will be manufactured in Milton Keynes, we will have a lot of help from Ford as they have expertise in the sector of Electric Vehicle. Over the years, the American Conglomerate has invested billions in the EV field with software, automation, batteries, and many more.”
Horner added that they had made a multi-year deal with Ford, and it is very clear as to what the responsibilities are for both partners. There will be no share exchange between Red Bull and Ford, but the contract states how the partners will control the engines in the following years. Horner proceeded to say, “We are just excited to start this new partnership with this giant American Corporation. It will help us penetrate the U.S. Market. Other than EV knowledge Ford has a rich history in racing. They had a successful campaign back in the 1960s with the DFV, Cosworth, in terms of the most successful engine in Formula One History.”