Ford have acknowledged that they are unable to spend an “unlimited” amount of money on their new Formula 1 partnership with Red Bull.
Ford are set to return to F1 after 20 years in a partnership deal with Red Bull. The “strategic partnership” was unveiled in New York last week.
Ford will supply both Red Bull and AlphaTauri with power units from 2026 through 2030.
As one of the world’s leading car manufacturers, the Ford Motor Company is worth over $50 billion, but the Global Director of Ford Performance Motorsports, Mark Rushbrook, has denied that Red Bull will benefit from the company’s financial resources.
When asked if Ford had a “bottomless pit” of money to invest into their F1 return, Rushbrook said: “Definitely not bottomless, I can attest to that. We do go racing in a responsible way, I believe, in all the different series that we go.
“We don’t have an unlimited budget, as much as racing sometimes wants you to go that way.
“We go in strategically with the right partners to win races, but also with a responsible budget.
“I think this, as an overlay or additional programme, is very special in terms of what the opportunity is and what the real benefit is to the marketing team from our company, to be able to leverage motorsports in a way that we haven’t for a long time.”
Speaking on the benefits of the F1 tie-up for Ford, Rushbrook stated that the main advantage for Ford comes on the marketing side.
“I think this, as an overlay or additional programme, is very special in terms of what the opportunity is and what the real benefit is to the marketing team from our company, to be able to leverage motorsports in a way that we haven’t for a long time.”
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