Ford’s interest in the sport of Formula 1 may have been rekindled by Red Bull’s current search for a future dance partner. Reports indicate that the American automaker is interested in sponsoring the world-championship-winning race team.
Speculation surrounding the Red Bull F1 team has been high since a proposed partnership with Porsche fell apart earlier this year. Reports indicate that the deal imploded at the last minute because the race team was worried that the manufacturer was trying to wrest too much control away from it.
Now, Motorsport reports that Ford may be a more attractive option for the team, since it has no interest in running it or producing engines. Instead, unnamed sources say that the blue oval just wants to help the team with marketing, though it would be happy to provide advice, if asked.
Read: Porsche’s F1 Deal With Red Bull Is Officially Dead
The suggestion is that Ford has become interested in the sport thanks to its rising status and the plethora of Grands Prix now being run in the United States. Along with the returning races in Austin, Texas, and Miami, Florida, Ford’s home country will also host a race in Las Vegas in 2023.
Ford has not been involved in F1 since 2004, when it ran a team through the Jaguar brand, which it owned at the time. The Ford brand, meanwhile, also put its name on Cosworth engines that powered the Jordan F1 team’s racecars in 2003 and 2004.
Neither effort provided the automaker with the success it was looking for, but this new tie-up could be a homecoming of sorts, because Ford actually sold the Jaguar F1 team to Red Bull when it pulled out of the sport.
As for Red Bull, such a deal could be appealing to it, too. The team’s boss, Christian Horner, has said that the outfit would be happy to welcome in another automotive partner after the Porsche deal fell through and Honda pulled out as its engine supplier at the end of 2021. He said, though, that finding a partner is not a prerequisite for the team moving forward, and that it’s excited to run its own engine department from now on.
With Ford reportedly satisfied riding Red Bull’s coattails and pitching some money in to put its name on the car, the arrangement could prove to be a happy one for both parties. Red Bull seems to have no shortage of potential suitors, though, so a Ford-Red Bull tie up is anything but certain at this point.
