Ford in F1? Has the American icon competed in Formula 1 before 2026?

Ford will enter Formula One in the 2026 season as it becomes a partner with Red Bull Racing. The American automotive giants are arguably one of the biggest brands in the world and are known globally for their iconic road cars like the Mustang.

But they are also a powerhouse in the world of motorsport, as they have demonstrated on many occasions, such as their triumphs in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and F1 over the past 60 years.

However, after being heavily involved for decades, Ford has stayed away from F1 for over 20 years after selling the Jaguar F1 team to the Austrian brand. But they will once again partner with the Milton Keynes-based outfit for the 2026 regulations to become their power unit partners.

Has Ford competed in Formula 1 before 2026?

Ford has a celebrated History with Formula One, which eventually began during 1967 when they started funding Cosworth, which was supplying engines to F1 teams on the grid.

Teams like Lotus, Tyrell, McLaren, and Williams F1 all used Cosworth engines from the mid 60s to the 80s and became race winners during their partnerships. The Williams-Cosworth duo was a dominant force during the 80s and won several Constructors' Championships.

The V8 engines funded by the American giants were revolutionary for their time, given that they had an ICE of Double Four Valve per cylinder, and became the dominant force of that era, which enabled Cosworth to win 155 races in almost 20 years.

However, the switch to V8 and V10 engines was not so successful for Cosworth to add 21 more wins from mid 80s to the early 2000s. They ended their journey with F1 at the end of the 2004 season after it decided to sell Jaguar, which they owned, to Red Bull, who later became a powerhouse in the sport.

In their initial spell in the sport, the Cosworth engines, funded by the American parent company, won 176 races along with 10 Constructors' and 13 Drivers' Championships.

Why did Ford choose Red Bull to return to Formula 1?'

Ford Motorsports director Mark Rushbrook revealed it became interested in the prospect of returning to F1 after they were approached by ex-Red Bull team principal and CEO Christian Horner.

Speaking with Motorsport.com, the global head of performance said:

"It became very clear that, at least from what we saw from the outside, it was not going to work for Red Bull with Porsche. I literally got Christian Horner's email address, sent him an email, and said ‘Hi, do you want to talk?’

"If you would have asked me five years ago, and actually people did ask me, ‘Is Ford going to get back into Formula 1?’ then my answer was no. At the time we didn’t think that F1 was the right place for us, but certainly things have changed afterwards,"

The partnership with Red Bull will be crucial next year as the latter is introducing its powertrains in the sport with the new engine regulations and venturing into a new era for the F1 project.