LEAKED: Red Bull-Ford partnership marks ironic return of the American giants to Milton Keynes

The Red Bull-Ford partnership is almost official as the news got leaked hours before the Austrian team's official launch in New York. Rumors of a possible partnership have been making the rounds for some time, with multiple news outlets reporting the possibility of the announcement at the car launch.

However, as reported by the BBC, Ford sent the information to the news agency Ansa and it got published before time. Even though it was withdrawn shortly afterward, the information became public and now it seems like a mere formality that there will be an announcement of the alliance between Red Bull and Ford from 2026 onwards. The BBC reports:

"Ford sent the information to news agency Ansa. It was published in error before being withdrawn shortly afterwards. It will be Ford's first factory involvement in F1 since 2004, after which they pulled out following the sale of their Jaguar team to Red Bull."

Earlier in the week, the Mirror had also reported a possible announcement of the partnership during the car launch in New York. The report stated:

"Sources have told Mirror Sport that Ford and Red Bull have been in talks and that a deal is expected, though pen is yet to be put to paper. All signs point to the official announcement of their partnership being made at the season launch event on Friday, February 3."

"It is not yet clear exactly how extensive the partnership will be. Ford are not believed to have signed up for the 2026 power unit regulations, while Red Bull have put extensive resource into building their own powertrains division and have a pre-existing relationship with Honda. Those factors suggest Ford may not come in as an engine partner, though it remains to be seen if that will be the case."

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What will be the nature of the Red Bull-Ford partnership?

The nature of the partnership between the two entities is primarily going to see Ford partly fund the power unit program. The Milton Keynes-based squad had made up its mind to create an independent power unit for the 2026 F1 regulations. The team did not want any technical expertise in terms of support or any meddling in how the organization was run.

This is precisely why both Porsche, the entity that wanted its members on the decision-making committee (and buy into the team), and Honda, the entity that wanted to be involved in the technical aspect of making the power unit, did not make the cut.

Ford's association will more or less be financial as the American constructor is not pooling in resources to provide any kind of technical support.