There have been plenty of talks between possible new manufacturers looking to get involved with Formula One. Ford Motor Company hasn't been a part of F1 since the 1990s but that will change in 2026 as Ford announced earlier this year that it would return to Formula One teaming up with the reigning world champion Red Bull Racing team.
The move by Ford comes at a time that General Motors hopes to join F1 as the official engine supplier for Andretti Global's proposed F1 entry.
The possibility of the Ford-GM rivalry battling on new ground in Formula One is tantalizing has the two have battled each other in many other forms of motorsport.
These big moves of adding American-made manufacturers come on the heels of rising popularity of the sport in the United States, contributed mainly to the Netflix "Drive to Survive" series. For the first time ever, Formula One is holding three Grands Prix in the U.S. this year, with the third one coming this weekend in Las Vegas.
Red Bull's team principal, Christian Horner, talked about how many different engine suppliers were interested in joining F1 and why Red Bull eventually went with Ford.
"We explored the options and Ford stood out as like-minded and sharing the same values and ambitions and it was a very straightforward deal that came together very, very quickly," Horner said. "I think Bill Ford, and Jim Farley, they're both keen racers, and Ford's racing heritage as we enter the competition for 2026, it's great to have this relationship with Ford that we can draw on their expertise, particularly in EV, whereas an independent engine manufacturer, we'd be at a disadvantage to our competitors."
That is still a few years away, and while Ford will be far and away different than Red Bull's current power supplier Honda, they might not miss a beat if current Red Bull drivers Max Verstappen and Serio Perez are still racing for the team in 2026.
The move to Ford will give Red Bull its first full works engine since 2015. It has gained all of its recent success as a customer team without its own power unit, so one can only imagine what they might be able to accomplish with their own engine.
2026 is quite a ways away, but Red Bull and Ford look destined for a very successful future. And we can only look forward to a whole new dimension of the rivalry between "The Blue Oval" and "The Bowtie" on F1 tracks around the world if F1 accepts Andretti's team powered by GM's Cadillac engine.
