Ford CEO Jim Farley says he’s “really happy” with the progress the manufacturer and Red Bull Powertrains have made so far on the development of the latter’s 2026 F1 power unit.
Early last year, Ford and Red Bull struck a collaboration deal that runs until the end of 2030 and by which the US automotive giant
While the alliance will involve a basic branding scheme, Ford has delegated a team of engineers to Milton Keynes to assist RBPT with battery and hybrid technology, a significant component of F1’s next generation power unit regulations which will see a 50-50 split in terms of total output between a unit’s internal combustion engine and electrical power.
Speaking in Charlotte, North Carolina at the launch event of Ford’s 2024 motorsport season, an upbeat Farley - flanked on stage by Red Bull's Sergio Perez - offered insight into Ford’s F1 PU development efforts with Red Bull.
“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,” commented the Ford chief executive.
“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.”
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Farley detailed how Ford’s involvement in F1 is a departure from the past when it was a supplier to the sport through a dedicated affiliate.
The American executive, a racer in his own right, says the cross-transfer of technology between Ford and Red Bull will directly trickle down to its electric road cars.
“We're going back to F1 in a way that we haven't in the past,” Farley explained. “It turns out that the best aerodynamics in the world are in Formula 1, the best telemetry, the best digital diagnostics.
“And, actually, we need all those things for electric and digital cars. So it's actually going back to the 70s with a pure tech transfer.
“This is not like owning our team, we're going there to literally transfer technology. We can offer battery tech for them, because in ‘26, they're going to go to like 50% electric, and they need high discharge batteries. And we do that in NHRA, for example.
“And, on the other hand, we can get telemetry, digital diagnosis, as well as aero, which we can put in our production, electric cars to make the battery smaller.”
Farley made clear that for Ford, there could be no better partner than Red Bull with which to collaborate and from which to benefit, and with which to win out on the track.
“They are the best in the world in a lot of these technologies, and we need them desperately as the car business changes,” he said.
“So it's literally like going back to where we were all those years ago: tech transfer.
“We have got the best frickin' team, it’s that simple. 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.”
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