The new Formula One power units have been the subject of much controversy over the years. Originally due in 2021 the project was delayed as the sport desperately tried to engage new manufacturers having faced the possibility of a team having no engine supplier.

Porsche were heavily involved in the FIA working party from 2017 onwards but failed to do a deal which would see them return to F1 since the days they supplied McLaren with the winning Tag badged V12 combustion engine.

 

 

 

Red Bull and Ford stumble together

The end result of years of delay was that only Audi signed up as a full power unit manufacturer and a progressively acquiring the Swiss based Sauber team which will run as a full works F1 team from 2026 onwards.

Having shunned Porsche’s overtures Red Bull decided to build its own power units having faced the stark reality of being left without an engine supplier when their relationship with Renault finally broke down. Of course, the world champions have been running a Honda power unit since their partnership with the French manufacturer ended, but the Japanese company then decided to once again pull out of the sport.

Honda have since relented but Red Bull decided to become masters of their own destiny in the power unit arena and the Japanese brand will shift their partnership with the new power units to Aston Martin.

As the new F1 car launches approached just under a year ago, there was a flurry of activity in Milton Keynes and the venue for the unveiling of the RB19 was switched to New York. A huge announcement was made at the big reveal, in that Ford were coming on board to assist with the Red Bull Powertrains programme.

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Concerns over 2026 F1 power units

Little has been divulged by Ford and Red Bull in the intervening twelve months bar strong words from Christian Horner last summer suggested the specification of the new 2026 power units may create “Frankenstein” F1 cars.

“One of the big impacts for 2026 [new regulations] is weight – you’re looking at pretty much a 30-kilogram swing on cars that are already approaching sports car type of weight,” explained the Red Bull boss.

He went on to praise the positive moves towards using 100% sustainable fuel, but revealed that early simulations from Milton Keynes indicated there may be problems cranking up the amount of electrical power to a level three times more than is used at present

“I think that perhaps where we need to pay urgent attention before it’s too late is to look at the ratio between combustion power and electrical power to ensure that we’re not creating a technical Frankenstein which will require the chassis to compensate to such a degree, with moveable aero to reduce the drag to such a level that the racing will be affected,” argued the Red Bull boss.

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Horner suggested that on the more power hungry circuits the combustion engine will merely be acting as a generator to charge the battery which renders the whole exercise pointless.

“I think that could easily be addressed with just tuning the ratio between combustion and electrical power,” concluded the head of RBR.

Accusations quickly came from Toto Wolff that Red Bull were struggling with their power unit design and that Mercedes technical team did not foresee the problems indicated by the Red Bull simulations. That said there have been rumours from others including the FIA that some kind of tweak to the specification may be required.

After a year of relative silence, the CEO of Ford has now commented the progress they are making in partnership with Red Bull Racing. Speaking at the 2024 launch of the Ford Performance motorsport division on Wednesday night, Jim Farley revealed the progress being made between the partners making some interesting  revelations.

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Ford CEO reveals tech transfer areas

“I had a chance to spend a lot of time with the team in Milton Keynes, and with Adrian Newey, and I think we’re on track,” said Farley on stage in north Carolina.

“2026, even though it sounds like a long way away, we have a lot of work to do on the powertrain, but I’m really happy with the progress. I wish I could tell you more, but I would say we’re on track.”

When Ford were announced by Red Bull last year, there was a certain amount of scepticism that the real involvement from the American auto giant would be minimal and predominantly financial. Yet Ford does have significant expertise in battery technology and Farley reveals its championship winning drag racing project will contribute to the new F1 power unit.

“We can offer battery tech for them, because in ’26 they’re going to go to like 50 percent electric and they need high discharge batteries – and we do that in NHRA, for example,” claimed Farley.

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Lightening fast battery discharge

Ford has been revising its world record holding Mustang Cobra Jet 1400. The new car is the Jet 1800 powered up version and whilst much of the technology from its predecessor is transferred the upgrade takes advantage of a newly designed transmission and battery system.

Farley believes Formula One is finally returning to its road car relevance in terms of technology transfer and sees this being of a competitive advantage to both Red Bull and Ford. In return for their state of the art battery technology, Farley believes Ford will in return benefit from mcc of the current technology used in F1.

“We can get telemetry, digital diagnostics, as well as aero, which can can put on our production of electric cars to make the battery smaller.

“They [Red Bull] are the best in the world in a lot of these technologies and we need them desperately as the car business changes. So it’s literally like going back to where we were all those years ago; tech transfer.”

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Ford brand to the top of global motorsport

Yet Farley is clear about one thing; returning to F1 is not merely about the technology transfer benefits, but to put the Ford brand at the top of global motorsport.

“We have got the best frickin’ team [Red Bull] that’s involved,” he said. “I mean, we’ve got the best drivers, we’ve got the best technical support.  

“We have the best of Ford around the globe to support them. But the team, the powertrain team that they’re building in Milton Keynes, is like absolutely, top notch. We’re going first class to the very top of the podium.”

Having commissioned one of the the most successful engines Formula One has ever seen in the Cosworth DFV, the American Giant decided to return to the sport with their Jaguar brand.

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The irony of Red Bull/Ford partnership

Jaguar Racing was formed from the purchase of Jackie Stewart’s F1 team and competed in the sport from 2000-2004. With no race wins and just two podiums, Jaguar’s best result was finishing the constructors championship three times in seventh place. 

The best placed driver in the period was Eddie Irvine who came ninth in the drivers title race back in 2002.

Of course the irony of the new Red Bull – Ford partnership is that Didi Mateschitz bought the Jaguar team and rebranded it Red Bull Racing for the 2005 season. Farley makes reference to this when he states, “this is not like owning our own team” but the CEO of Ford concludes he believes the partnership will be world beating, so look out Ferrari and Mercedes.

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