Red Bull Ford Powertrains' work toward 2026 F1 power unit is officially under way

We haven’t heard much in the way of tactical updates from Ford and Red Bull since the announcement that Ford would be partnering with Red Bull Powertrains to develop a new power unit together for the 2026 Formula One season. That changes today with a small tidbit of official information.

Christian Horner, Red Bull Racing F1 team principal, said, “The exchange of ideas and technology are now flowing between the two organizations in the lead-up to the new regulations” in an official statement provided by Ford.

Red Bull Ford Powertrains is focusing on the manufacturing of the internal combustion engine, turbo unit and high-voltage propulsion systems currently, Ford says. The Blue Oval is also helping out with the electronics systems. All of these areas of development are places where we expected Ford to be involved, so there’s no big surprise here, but now we know that work is officially under way.

Expect the new power unit to be fielded by both the Oracle Red Bull Racing and Scuderia Alpha Tauri teams come the 2026 season. Plus, now that we know Ford is planning on progress reports as further developments move them closer to a final product.