American car manufacturer Ford has revealed that it considered returning to Formula 1 as a full works team, but ultimately decided that it didn't feel like the right way to do things.
Ford confirmed on Friday that it will make a return to Formula 1 in 2026 when new power unit regulations come into effect, in partnership with the Red Bull Racing team.
Ford was last involved in the sport through its Jaguar brand, which ironically it sold off in 2004 to energy drinks magnate Dieter Mateschitz to form the nucleus of the Red Bull F1 operation.
“We studied all options for sure,” Ford Performance Motorsports global director Mark Rushbrook told the media at Friday's launch event for the 2023 season, held in New York City.
Rushbrook said that the company had begin evaluating various options to return to the sport more than two years ago. “We definitely took our time to listen to a lot of people
“As soon as they knew Ford had some interest for at least consideration, a lot of people came forward, whether it was an existing team or prospective teams, to see if there was an opportunity for us to partner with them.
"We have approached some teams but initially none of them seemed right," he revealed. Starting a brand new factory team from scratch also didn't appeal to Ford.
“Coming back in as a full factory - owning a team, as we have done in the past - also didn’t feel right, because we wanted to come in very strategically to contribute where it made sense and to also learn where it made sense.
"It’s very important to come into the sport at the right time, and in the right way with the right partner. We believe we’re doing that on both counts.”
Red Bull had previously been eyeing an engine partnership with Porsche for 2026 when their current title-tinning arrangement with Honda expires.
But those negotiations fell through, leaving Red Bull in the right place and the right time to enter discussions with Ford instead - and the negotiations made rapid progress.
“With Red Bull it was very quickly apparent that what they were looking for in a partner is something that we could bring, and what we were looking for in a partner is something that they could bring.
"While that started in the latter half of 2022, it went very quickly in the sense that we knew it was the right partnership from the very beginning," Rushbrook said.
“We had more discussions to get into more detail, and here we are today able to announce it."
Red Bull's move into establishing its own power unit business contributed to the ense of a perfect fit between the two companies.
“It definitely is right to partner with somebody like Red Bull Powertrains because they’re not a rival auto manufacturer," Rushbrook stated.
"It wouldn't have felt right or appropriate to partner with another auto manufacturer together on the power unit. There certainly were some opportunities to do that, but that wasn’t the right way for us.”
Ford executive chair Bill Ford said on Friday that the announcement was "the start of a thrilling new chapter" for the company that would return it to "to the pinnacle of the sport".
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