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As Ford prepares for its first entry on an F1 grid since 2004, the American car manufacturer has revealed the tipping point for green-lighting its return to Grand Prix Racing in 2026.
The company has a rich and highly successful history in F1. The company is F1’s third most successful engine manufacturer of all time. In collaboration with Cosworth, Ford won an astonishing 176 wins between 1967 and 2003. 155 of these wins came from the legendary DFV design. The engine raced between 1967 and 1983, winning titles with McLaren, Williams and Lotus.
Ford’s most recent win came at the rain-soaked 2003 Brazilian Grand Prix with Jordan. However, the spectacular failure of its venture running a works team as Jaguar Racing saw the company withdraw at the end of 2004. After the late Dietrich Mateschitz bought the team in the off-season, Red Bull Racing was born.
Ford continued in other forms of racing after leaving F1, including sportscars, and rallying. The company won the World Rally Championship in 2017, debuting in the series two years after the sale of Jaguar.
Speaking to motorsport.com at Red Bull’s livery launch event in New York, Ford global director Mark Rushbrook revealed why the company chose 2026 to stage its return. Ford is one of six manufacturers to register for the new 2026 Power Unit regulations. It joins Ferrari, Mercedes, Renault, Audit and Honda. The new regulations feature an enhanced battery and the removal of the highly expensive and complex MGU-Heat system.
Ford saw “opportunity”
When asked if the power unit regulations which have remained mostly unchanged since 2014 had not been updated for 2026, Rushbrook confirmed this was Ford’s red line that had to be addressed. Rushbrook also confirmed that the team will be in the sport for technical expertise, rather than a marketing exercise of badging an existing engine with Ford’s name.
“No, I don’t think we would. “If it was a carry over power unit without this opportunity, that would have been a step backwards for us.”
“100%, we needed to have that. We don’t just go racing just as a marketing exercise anywhere. And especially in Formula 1, as the stage that it is, the opportunity to really get that technical learning, it was important for us. Without it, we wouldn’t have done it.”