Ford spill the beans on origin of Red Bull deal talks with Christian Horner

Ford Chief Mark Rushbrook recalled how easily he secured a power unit deal with Red Bull after reaching out to Christian Horner via email.

Ford spill the beans on origin of Red Bull deal talks with Christian Horner

Christian Horner (Via IMAGO), Ford logo (Via Ford)

Red Bull is preparing for the massive task of creating their own power units in Formula 1 alongside Ford. The American giant will bring greater things to the Austrian constructor as the team suffers through a rough patch in performance. Ford’s Chief, Mark Rushbrook, recalled how he convinced Christian Horner to form a partnership in the sport.

Ford will help Red Bull create their own power units for the regulation changes of the 2026 season. The American giant had already made their debut in engines in Formula 1 back in 1967 with the Cosworth team. Securing a deal with Ford was relatively straightforward for Red Bull, as the team was unlikely to finalize an agreement with Porsche for its power units.

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Mark Rushbrook recalled that Red Bull’s deal with Porsche was not going to work as Ford entered at the right time. Rushbrook revealed that he simply searched for Horner’s email address and reached out to him. In his message, he asked whether the 51-year-old was open to a discussion about securing Ford as Red Bull’s power unit partner.

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It became very clear that, at least from what we saw from the outside, that it was not going to work for Red Bull with Porsche. I literally got Christian Horner’s email address, sent him an email and said ‘Hi, do you want to talk?’

Mark Rushbrook told Motorsport.com

Christian Horner quotes late Dietrich Mateschitz on Red Bull’s ambitious plan

Despite the long-time partnership with Honda, Red Bull decided to lock in with Ford for the power units. Christian Horner recalled the late Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz whose words played a massive role in the deal. The Briton pointed out that Mateschitz believed in ‘no risk, no fun’ and hence the project was approved by the Austrian constructor.

Christian Horner, Dietrich Mateschitz and Helmut Marko (image via GPfans)
Christian Horner, Dietrich Mateschitz, and Helmut Marko (image via GPfans)

As Dietrich Mateschitz always told us: ‘No risk, no fun.’ That applies to this project, and it’s something we couldn’t have done without a like-minded partner.

Christian Horner told Motorsport.com.

The 2024 season proved to be an extremely difficult outing for Red Bull as they failed to conquer the constructors’ championship. The team will have to work hard on their performance and ensure a better outing during Honda’s final year. From the 2026 season onwards, Milton Keynes might have a completely different performance trajectory as compared to the previous years.