Ford Racing’s Global Director Mark Rushbrook has vowed its future in Formula 1 will not be based on whether Max Verstappen remains at Red Bull.
The American marque is making its return to F1, 22 years after it sold its Jaguar Racing outfit to the Milton Keynes-based squad.
Its comeback is therefore right where it left, but in an alliance with Red Bull, the two joining forces to help build the latter’s first in-house powertrain.
The forthcoming union almost suffered a huge blow last year, as speculation mounted as to the whereabouts of its Dutch star, amid rumoured talks with rivals Mercedes.
But Verstappen eventually committed his future to Red Bull, with 2026 proving to be an outlier of a year, due to the new regulation cycle rendering predictability almost non-existent.
Rushbrook lavished praise on Verstappen, and stated that his “champion” persona is going to help the partnership reach the heights it’s aiming for.
“He is a generational talent,” he told Motorsport Italy.
“To have a champion in the car with a Red Bull Ford power unit is important, right? We believe in the team, we believe in the power unit, and we believe in the people that are designing the car.
“But at the end of the day, it comes down to the driver to get every single ounce out of it. And we believe Max is a champion.
“Max is an important part, but it’s not to the point where we would say, ‘Oh, if he’s gone from the team, we are too’.
“No, we know that we have confidence in the team and that we’ll get other drivers in the future.”
Ford has ‘the intention of winning,’ regardless of Max Verstappen future
This appears to place a great deal of pressure on Verstappen succeeding in order for the union to have any chance of surviving in the long-term.
But Rushbrook insisted that regardless of who is in the car, Ford is gunning for success with Red Bull.
“My comments are independent of Max,” he said. “We want to be on the track with the intention of winning.”
He added: “We want to be at the front of the grid no matter what. We know it’s a massive challenge with the all-new power unit, but that’s our intention. And if we’re not, we’re still committed to doing everything that we can to get to where we want to be.”
Rushbrook revealed that Verstappen has personally visited the powertrains hub and taken a keen look at the progress being made so far, which he believes is vital in raising morale as work reaches its business end.
“He has been through the facility several times,” Rushbrook said of Verstappen. “It’s great, I think, for the team to see his interest and to have him there.
“Showing that he cares matters, for sure. It’s great that he’s got that interest and at the same time he can get confidence in what the team is delivering for 2026.”
READ MORE – Sebastian Vettel explains the evolution of Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen
Discussion about this post