Remember the story from back in December 2022 when the rumor mill announced a potential deal between Ford and Red Bull in Formula 1? Well, it might be significantly more than just a rumor that was based on unnamed insiders and an unintentionally leaked announcement. Now, it looks like the two companies are set to announce the tie-up together.
Photo: Oracle Red Bull Racing for initial image, digitally modified image by autoevolution.com by addition of Ford logo
Before we go to the situation at hand, a bit of context for everyone will help get things up to speed. Negotiations between Ford and Red Bull Racing were allegedly held in December 2022, and this is just one round that we know about. At the time, Italian media outlets found out about the potential deal, and it became a topic for a while.
Red Bull Racing has refused to comment on the potential deal, although the firm had previously had discussions with Porsche for a collaboration starting in 2026.
The issue with any such deal is that Red Bull Racing wants to get engines from Red Bull Powertrains, a newly formed firm, and other manufacturers are not keen on getting just their name on an engine developed by another firm.
Allegedly, the folks at Ford then sent information about the discussions and the potential deal to a news agency called Ansa, which reportedly published it in error, and then withdrew it shortly after. It was too late, as BBC noted, because there were enough recipients of that information to let the news spread into the world.
Now, Red Bull Racing is set to showcase its upcoming 2023 Formula 1 racing car, the RB19, and the announcement is set to happen on February 3, 2023, in New York. AlphaTauri, its sister-team, is also doing a reveal in New York, but on February 11.
According to a report, the tie-up with Ford or the initial memorandum of understanding with the Blue Oval brand might be announced today, during the official reveal of the Red Bull Racing RB19. What is sure is that we will know if the information was correct in a matter of hours, so stay tuned.
Until then, we do know for sure that Red Bull Racing uses Honda engines in Formula 1, and the deal is set to continue until the end of the 2025 season. At the same time, any new engine suppliers would have had to make their intentions known to the FIA, and the list has already been closed, so no new players might join the field as a surprise later. Ford is not on that list, mind you.
Ironically, Ford's last involvement in Formula 1 ended when the Jaguar F1 team, which they had a stake in, was sold to Red Bull Racing. The Milton Keynes outfit was previously the Stewart team, which was also backed by Ford, and then rebranded to Jaguar since the Blue Oval owned the British marque as well, at the time.
In its last foray into F1, the team that was supported by Ford won 21 grand prix, the last of which was the 2003 Brazil GP. Now, the American brand has a serious reason to get back in F1, as its rivals from GM, in the form of Cadillac, want to compete in F1 with the Andretti team. The latter is the only new team to register its interest in joining the sport, but it has been met with opposition from existing teams.
Before the Stewart-turned-Jaguar team, Ford's previous involvement in F1 was in the era of V8 engines, which lasted from 1967 to the early 1980s, back when the sport got its first turbocharged engines.
Until those came along, the Cosworth DFV engine, which was based on a Ford design, managed to become the most successful engine in the sport with 155 victories.
The chance of repeating that performance is next to none, since engine regulations change too often to enable keeping the same unit for that much time. While the sport does have over 20 races in a season, it could be done if they were to dominate the sport for the next six to seven years or so. Interestingly, Ford has reportedly decided to invite a few influencers to an event in NYC on the same day.
Red Bull Racing has refused to comment on the potential deal, although the firm had previously had discussions with Porsche for a collaboration starting in 2026.
The issue with any such deal is that Red Bull Racing wants to get engines from Red Bull Powertrains, a newly formed firm, and other manufacturers are not keen on getting just their name on an engine developed by another firm.
Allegedly, the folks at Ford then sent information about the discussions and the potential deal to a news agency called Ansa, which reportedly published it in error, and then withdrew it shortly after. It was too late, as BBC noted, because there were enough recipients of that information to let the news spread into the world.
Now, Red Bull Racing is set to showcase its upcoming 2023 Formula 1 racing car, the RB19, and the announcement is set to happen on February 3, 2023, in New York. AlphaTauri, its sister-team, is also doing a reveal in New York, but on February 11.
According to a report, the tie-up with Ford or the initial memorandum of understanding with the Blue Oval brand might be announced today, during the official reveal of the Red Bull Racing RB19. What is sure is that we will know if the information was correct in a matter of hours, so stay tuned.
Until then, we do know for sure that Red Bull Racing uses Honda engines in Formula 1, and the deal is set to continue until the end of the 2025 season. At the same time, any new engine suppliers would have had to make their intentions known to the FIA, and the list has already been closed, so no new players might join the field as a surprise later. Ford is not on that list, mind you.
Ironically, Ford's last involvement in Formula 1 ended when the Jaguar F1 team, which they had a stake in, was sold to Red Bull Racing. The Milton Keynes outfit was previously the Stewart team, which was also backed by Ford, and then rebranded to Jaguar since the Blue Oval owned the British marque as well, at the time.
In its last foray into F1, the team that was supported by Ford won 21 grand prix, the last of which was the 2003 Brazil GP. Now, the American brand has a serious reason to get back in F1, as its rivals from GM, in the form of Cadillac, want to compete in F1 with the Andretti team. The latter is the only new team to register its interest in joining the sport, but it has been met with opposition from existing teams.
Before the Stewart-turned-Jaguar team, Ford's previous involvement in F1 was in the era of V8 engines, which lasted from 1967 to the early 1980s, back when the sport got its first turbocharged engines.
Until those came along, the Cosworth DFV engine, which was based on a Ford design, managed to become the most successful engine in the sport with 155 victories.
The chance of repeating that performance is next to none, since engine regulations change too often to enable keeping the same unit for that much time. While the sport does have over 20 races in a season, it could be done if they were to dominate the sport for the next six to seven years or so. Interestingly, Ford has reportedly decided to invite a few influencers to an event in NYC on the same day.
Google News