Ford announce plans to return to F1 from the 2026 season

[skinny z]

I remember the Ford/Cosworth DFV being a dominant force during that era from the late 60's up to Schumacher's/Benetton's championships '94.
2026 should prove interesting indeed.
Hmm. The ICE lives on. (In a hybrid of course).

DFV.jpg

[SchmidtMotorWorks]

I wonder who will design and build their engines?

[Tuner]

This will tout the EV and hybrid deal. Ford is all-in on electrons.

[Schurkey]

What would Ford hope to gain from F1? Publicity, I guess. They're not going to learn anything about engine or chassis design that would translate to production vehicles. And while Ford could write a check, Ford couldn't engineer the engine or the chassis back in the '60s, they sure as heck can't do it now.

[frnkeore]

What would Ford hope to gain from F1? Publicity, I guess. They're not going to learn anything about engine or chassis design that would translate to production vehicles. And while Ford could write a check, Ford couldn't engineer the engine or the chassis back in the '60s, they sure as heck can't do it now.

Ford is a world wide manufacture and have been since the first part of the last century. So, what ever it does, effects some or all of the world's car production. A much smaller American company (Hass) got into F1, to sell their machinery, world wide.

I believe, at least in part, Ford's motivation is the hybrid aspect, that will help in that area of new production cars. F1 is going to a greater percentage of hybrid power for 2026. Also, Ford has huge tech resources that could be directed at the program, if they so desire and if the word comes from the top, it could be immediately done. Look at the Indy engine and the GT40.

The Ford Cosworth F1 engine, is one of the most successful, of all time and it's start was based on a 4 cylinder, Ford production engine.

A quote;

Ford has a rich history in Formula 1 and is the third most successful engine manufacturer in the history of the sport behind Mercedes and Ferrari.

The legendary Cosworth DFV V8 engine secured 155 race victories from 1967 and dominated F1 until the advent of the turbo era in the early 1980s.

In total, Ford celebrated 174 grand prix wins, won 10 constructors' titles and 13 drivers' championships, starting with Lotus and Graham Hill in 1968. Further titles followed with the likes of Jackie Stewart, James Hunt and Mario Andretti. Ford's most recent title victory came as its engines powered Benetton's Michael Schumacher to the 1994 drivers' crown.

Another part, maybe because GM is trying to get into F1 with Andretti, under the Cadillac banner, with rebadged Renault engines. If Ford wouldn't benefit GM, certainly wouldn't.

Last, although it has no real relevance, Ford owned the team (Jagaur) that Red Bull bought to start out with.

[bob460]

I wonder who will design and build their engines?

DV of course....

[juuhanaa]

Another part, maybe because GM is trying to get into F1 with Andretti, under the Cadillac banner, with rebadged Renault engines. If Ford wouldn't benefit GM, certainly wouldn't.

Lol i dont have any pinto engine laying around, so im just wondering is it okay for the Ford guys if i slap an F -series renault engine under the mk1 escort bonnet?



-juhana

[hoffman900]

I wonder who will design and build their engines?

RedBull is. They went all in on building a Powertrain development facility and poaching engineers from Mercedes HPP (formerly Mercedes-Ilmor) as well as other places.

Originally Porsche was rumored but supposably talks vroke down as Porsche wanted majority control.

This will be like Cosworth (or Chevy Ilmor, which Ilmor exists as a US company only now) where Ford bankrolls a bunch of it, provides some assistance, but majority is the a third party.

[Wetflow]

F1 car are to run 100% eMethanol or some other fully synthetic fuel by 2030. Since the push to full electric has proven to be as problematic as expected and then some, the manufacturers are extending the life of the ICE through the use of renewable fuels. Porsche is leading the way. One of the most efficient ways to develop new tech is through racing. Ford has been at this game for a long time. The ICE if far from dead.

[juuhanaa]

I wonder who will design and build their engines?

RedBull is. They went all in on building a Powertrain development facility and poaching engineers from Mercedes HPP (formerly Mercedes-Ilmor) as well as other places.

Originally Porsche was rumored but supposably talks vroke down as Porsche wanted majority control.

This will be like Cosworth (or Chevy Ilmor, which Ilmor exists as a US company only now) where Ford bankrolls a bunch of it, provides some assistance, but majority is the a third party.

"RedBull gives wings", actually it is the Air Force



-juhana

[panic]

Ford's racing philosophy: "Just throw money at it".

[skinny z]

Ford explain their rationale here:


https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/arti ... nHsQJ.html


That there are now three races in the U.S. I'm sure was a large contributing factor.

[panic]

Just for fun, compare the GT0 to the Lola (Eric Broadly)

[frnkeore]

Ford's racing philosophy: "Just throw money at it".

Not really. If you research the Indy and GT40 programs, you'll find that they did ALL the Indy engine work and most everything in the GT40. Shelby was a key to it also.

The Indy engine came directly from the 260 SBF (initial testing) then in 6 months produce the highly modified aluminum push rod engine. The next year they produced the DOHC version, that went on to dominate the series for many years.

[SchmidtMotorWorks]

I wonder who will design and build their engines?

RedBull is. They went all in on building a Powertrain development facility and poaching engineers from Mercedes HPP (formerly Mercedes-Ilmor) as well as other places.

Originally Porsche was rumored but supposably talks vroke down as Porsche wanted majority control.

This will be like Cosworth (or Chevy Ilmor, which Ilmor exists as a US company only now) where Ford bankrolls a bunch of it, provides some assistance, but majority is the a third party.

Interesting
https://www.redbullpowertrains.com/int-en
Milton Keynes, UK is 37 minutes drive from Northamptonshire, where most of the people with the expertise live.

I doubt that GM or Ford have the right people for that work.
I work with a guy that was an engineering leader at GM working on some of the recent high performance engines.
His ICE projects dead-ended about a year ago, then he transitioned to batteries and then left big automotive to do Silicon Valley start-up work (continuing with batteries).