Why the F1 paddock is a ‘little bit sceptical’ about Red Bull’s partnership with Ford

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The 2026 Formula 1 season is already presenting challenges for every team with a sweeping set of regulations set to shake up the grid.

This year’s campaign has been another tight affair and both the Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships could go down to the wire in Abu Dhabi.

It’s expected that the 2025 campaign will be even closer, with no team likely to fully focus on taking big strides forward in a ruleset where the front-running manufacturers are on the precipice of what can be achieved under these rules and so much work to do to be competitive in 2026.

Many fans will be frustrated that the unpredictable races seen this year may be replaced by one team’s dominance but for Red Bull, a change might be just what they need.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Red Bull Racing from engine to Ford links

Max Verstappen was unstoppable throughout the last two campaigns and that trend looked set to continue this year, but McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes have all closed the gap in the past few months.

Speaking on The Race Podcast about Toyota’s new partnership with Haas, journalist Scott Mitchell-Malm admitted that there were some similarities with Red Bull’s burgeoning relationship with Ford.

Throughout their 20 years in the sport, Red Bull have relied on engines supplied by Cosworth, Ferrari, Renault and Honda.

Red Bull’s 2026 hybrid power unit will be built in association with Ford, however, there is some scepticism about just how involved they are in the project.

How people view Red Bull’s upcoming partnership with Ford

Reflecting on Haas’s new relationship with Toyota and how similar it is to other projects in Formula 1, Mitchell-Malm said: “It is a new kind of era style deal. And the two that it reminds me most of, more than the Alfa Romeo-Sauber one is the Red Bull-Ford engine deal for 2026.

“But I think it’s a lot more tangible than that because the actual Ford technical involvement of the 2026 Red Bull engine, I think everybody’s at least a little bit sceptical over how much of a contribution is really being made there.

READ MORE: ‘My goodness’… Martin Brundle shares what he’s seen after visiting Red Bull Powertrains facility

“That feels more on the commercial side than the technical side. But the other one that reminds me of a little bit, it’s not on the grid at the moment, it might never be, is Andretti and General Motors and Cadillac, where Andretti and Cadillac and GM are planning on using various different facilities.

“There’s GM and Cadillac testing facilities in the US and development facilities that have stuff that Andretti doesn’t have.”

Ford CEO responds to rumours about Red Bull’s 2026 engine

The battle between the power unit suppliers lost one entrant before the rule changes were even implemented in Formula 1.

Renault have scrapped their engine program with Alpine set to become a customer at the end of next year.

That leaves Red Bull’s latest project competing with Ferrari, Mercedes, Honda and Audi.

Ford’s CEO has responded to rumours that Red Bull’s power unit isn’t up to scratch with many believing Mercedes are at the front of the pack.

Alex Albon cited Williams having Mercedes engines as one of the reasons he decided to sign a new contract that runs into the new ruleset.

It won’t be until the first race of the 2026 campaign that we see just how much difference each PU will make to all ten team’s chances.