The big American car company, Ford, is working with Red Bull Powertrains to make a new engine for Formula 1 cars in 2026.
This is a big deal because Red Bull is going to make its own engine for the first time ever. Some people worry this might be too much for them, and they might not do well in races if they don’t get it right from the start.
Christian Horner, who runs the Red Bull team, said they’re trying hard to catch up with other teams who have been doing this for a long time. He said they have great people working with them, but they have a lot to learn.
Ford, who is helping Red Bull with the engine, knows it’s a big challenge for them. But they also think there are some good things about how Red Bull is doing it.
Mark Rushbrook, who works at Ford and knows a lot about racing, thinks it’s good that Red Bull doesn’t have to worry about the current engines. This means they can focus all their energy on making the new engine for 2026 as good as possible.
Rushbrook said, “In Formula 1, it’s always going to be hard. Ferrari has been doing this for a long time, so they have an advantage. But the team working on the engine for us is only thinking about the 2026 engine. They’re not distracted by anything else, which is a good thing.”
He also said that, so far, the engine project is going well. But in Formula 1, things move really fast, so they have to keep working hard until 2030 when these rules end.
Some people have said that the Red Bull engine might not be as good as it should be by now. But Rushbrook said they’re doing well according to their own plans. They don’t know how other teams are doing, but they feel confident in what they’re doing.
Ford is helping Red Bull mostly with the electrical parts of the new engine. But they’re also helping with other things where they can, like testing and modeling. They think there’s a big opportunity in making cars more electric.
