The first date for the 2026 Formula 1 presentations has been set: What Racing Bulls and Red Bull are planning and what powertrain partner Ford has to do with it
Ford’s head of motorsport, Mark Rushbrook, has announced in a blog post when the two Formula 1 teams, Racing Bulls and Red Bull, plan to unveil their car designs for 2026—as part of a major motorsport presentation at Ford in Detroit on January 15.
According to Rushbrook, this will be a first: “Red Bull will be presenting its two Formula 1 teams at a single event for the first time ever.”
However, Rushbrook overlooks the “F1 75” Formula 1 presentation at the start of the 2025 season, when all ten teams presented themselves at an evening event in London – one after the other on the same stage.
There is still a first
The presentation in Detroit is still a first: it marks the start of the new partnership between Ford and Red Bull, who are collaborating on the development of the new Formula 1 engine for 2026. The event that has now been announced is the first highlight of the collaboration, says Rushbrook.
But anyone expecting a real vehicle presentation will be disappointed: according to Rushbrook, Racing Bulls and Red Bulls will only be presenting the colors of their vehicles, not the new vehicles themselves. So on January 15, we will probably see the current VCARB 02 and RB21 in their 2026 designs.
However, there will be at least one real presentation: the first joint Formula 1 powertrain from Ford and Red Bull – the “heart of Ford’s return to the ‘premier class’ after 22 years,” according to Rushbrook. He says: “The technical challenge has never been greater. Our team is working day and night on the preparations for 2026.”
The Ford partnership began back in 2023
And it has been going on for years: Ford and Red Bull sealed their technical partnership back in spring 2023 after negotiations between Red Bull and Porsche failed. From 2026, both Red Bull and Racing Bulls will use the new powertrains, most of which were developed at a newly built engine plant in Milton Keynes, England.
Ford contributed its expertise in combustion engines and electrical components to the partnership and also supported Red Bull in software matters. For Red Bull, this is the first drive system it has developed in-house, enabling the energy drink company to compete in Formula 1 as a full-fledged manufacturer: Racing Bulls and Red Bull are no longer customer teams, but factory teams.
When the contract was signed in 2023, then Red Bull team boss Christian Horner was already dreaming of a “dynasty” in Formula 1—and raved about Ford’s motorsport history, which was shaped by drivers such as Jim Clark, Ayrton Senna, and Michael Schumacher. “That history speaks for itself,” Horner said. Ford and the Red Bull teams want to build on that in 2026.
The Ford presentation on January 15 will be followed by the first test drives with the new Formula 1 cars starting on January 26, 2026. There will be a total of three weeks of testing in Barcelona (Spain) and Sakhir (Bahrain). Only the first week of testing will take place behind closed doors, with no public or media access.
