Ford has reaffirmed its full commitment to Red Bull, with Ford Performance director Mark Rushbrook underlining that the American manufacturer will not walk away from the team even if Max Verstappen were to move to another Formula 1 outfit in the future.
Starting from this season, Ford will provide technical support to the Austrian team as part of the new partnership launched in response to the upcoming Formula 1 regulatory overhaul. This collaboration coincides with Red Bull’s transformation into a full manufacturer through its Red Bull Powertrains division, marking a historic shift in the team’s approach to power unit development.
It is an extremely complex challenge for Red Bull, which will face its first season as a power unit manufacturer in 2026. Producing a competitive engine from scratch represents one of the biggest technical hurdles in modern Formula 1, and the scale of the task has inevitably raised questions about Red Bull’s potential competitiveness, particularly given its lack of prior experience in independently developing complete power units.
In this context, the presence of Max Verstappen has been widely regarded as a key pillar of the project. The Dutch driver has chosen to remain with Red Bull for the 2026 season rather than pursuing opportunities elsewhere on the grid. Speaking specifically about Max Verstappen, Rushbrook told Motorsport Italia: “He is a generational talent. Having a champion behind the wheel with a Red Bull-Ford power unit is important. We believe in the team, we believe in the power unit, and we believe in the people who design the car. But in the end, it is the driver who has to extract the maximum performance. And we believe that Max is a champion.”
Keeping Max Verstappen, at least in the short term, is therefore considered crucial for Red Bull as it enters this new era. Even if the Milton Keynes-based team is unable to immediately provide the four-time world champion with the most competitive car on the grid, his exceptional talent could still deliver strong results. Max Verstappen’s ability to push beyond the theoretical limits of the machinery is seen as a significant asset for both Red Bull and Ford as they build their 2026 project.
However, Rushbrook was keen to stress that Ford’s commitment does not hinge solely on the presence of the 28-year-old Dutchman. While acknowledging Verstappen’s importance, he made it clear that the partnership is founded on a broader vision that extends beyond any single driver. “Max is an important part of the team, but not to the point where we would say: ‘If he leaves the team, then we leave as well.’ No, we have confidence in the team and we know that other drivers will come in the future,” Rushbrook explained.
This stance highlights Ford’s long-term strategic approach to Formula 1, with the manufacturer viewing its alliance with Red Bull as a multi-year project focused on innovation, technical development and sustainable competitiveness under the new regulations. Rather than being built around one individual, the Red Bull-Ford partnership is designed to endure changes in driver line-ups and evolve as the sport itself continues to transform.
As Formula 1 moves closer to the 2026 season, the message from Ford is clear: while Max Verstappen remains a central figure in Red Bull’s current success, the foundations of the project rest on the strength of the organisation, the engineering capability behind the Red Bull Powertrains programme and a shared belief in the future potential of the partnership.
Ford’s public display of loyalty to Red Bull highlights a strategic focus that extends far beyond the immediate presence of a star driver like Max Verstappen. By prioritizing the technical infrastructure and the collective talent within the Red Bull Powertrains project, Ford is signaling to the paddock that their return to F1 is built for longevity, regardless of who sits in the cockpit. As the 2026 power unit battle looms, this stability could prove vital in convincing other top-tier talents that the Red Bull-Ford project remains the place to be for the next decade of racing.
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