Red Bull and Ford Racing started the new journey with the Powertrains launch alongside the livery reveal of F1 2026.
Red Bull Ford Powertrains and Oracle Red Bull Racing launched the 2026 Formula One campaign with an action-packed Red Bull show in Detroit, Michigan on Thursday night and a very special surprise. It was a significant moment on the journey from Red Bull deciding to build its own powerunit in 2021 to being weeks away from running on track in the 2026 World Championship. The official launch of Red Bull Ford Powertrains inaugural powerunit came with a new announcement, as RBFPT Technical Director Ben Hodgkinson joined on a live link from HQ in Milton Keynes, to reveal that the PU would be named DM01, after the late Dietrich Mateschitz, who spearheaded Red Bull’s decision to become an engine manufacturer.
The founder of Red Bull was the driving force behind the decision to enter Formula One in 2005 and when the rare opportunity to take full control of the Team’s powerunit future arose, he once again made the call to do something many viewed as potentially impossible, and with that Red Bull Powertrains was established. Embodying the brand’s pioneering and rebellious spirit, it was, and is, a decisive commitment to build Red Bull’s very own powerunit, with new engine regulations coming into the sport in 2026. It was a bold step that has allowed Oracle Red Bull Racing to design a power unit specifically for a Red Bull chassis. The first RBFPT powerunit will now honour Dietrich’s legacy, powering the RB22 on track, bringing the Red Bull energy to countries all over the world.
Ford joined in 2023 as a Technical Partner to create Red Bull Ford Powertrains and bring on board over 120 years of technical expertise and history in motorsport. Now a Team Partner, the iconic American brand provide crucial technologies and support to Red Bull Ford Powertrains manufacturing, development and engineering. Ahead of a season when Ford will renter Formula One, after 22 years away, Red Bull joined forces with Ford Racing to launch the 2026 season in Detroit, the birthplace of Ford and the historic home of car building in the USA. The action-packed show was hosted at the refurbished Michigan Central Station, which was extensively renovated by Ford Motor Company over six years.
The decision to preserve the iconic building, after it was left abandoned, was another move to represent the Blue Oval’s continued commitment to the City of Detroit. With Red Bull visiting Ford’s hometown, the show featured an augmented reality deep dive into the powerunit, stunts from Red Bull athletes and, crucially, the first look at Oracle Red Bull Racing’s 2026 livery – which takes inspiration from the beginnings of Red Bull Racing’s visual presence in the sport and features the famous Ford blue.
Laurent Mekies, CEO and Team Principal of Oracle Red Bull Racing, said: “It was incredible to reveal the livery here in Detroit, in Ford’s home. The car looks stunning, we wanted to give it a special touch with the gloss for this new chapter. and we hope the fans enjoy it. The Team have done an incredible job, to be here today and to be in the position to go to Barcelona Shakedown with our own car and our own power unit for the first time ever. This is the result of the efforts of 2000 people at the Red Bull Technology Campus, the most talented group that you can find and they have been working together to get us to this moment. It is the beginning of an extremely exciting journey for all of us and we will take to the track as one – one Red Bull chassis and powerunit.”
Ben Hodgkinson, Technical Director of Red Bull Ford Powertrains, said: “To get to this moment where we can finally launch the first-ever Red Bull Ford Powertrain means a lot to myself, and the several hundred people that have poured their passion into this project with hours and hours of hard graft. The scale of this mission has been truly mind-blowing. Right from the very start, every element of this project has started from scratch; the facilities, the people, the designing, the building and finally the assembling. We started with Dietrich’s dream, and the people here in Milton Keynes made it a reality. It is a surreal feeling to see it launched in Detroit with Ford, but a truly rewarding moment for all of us.
“This engine we’ve got today is actually our sixth generation. So we keep evolving it, keep trying to make it better. But just last weekend was a particularly personal moment for me and all of my team mates, where the Red Bull engine and the Red Bull chassis got married together in a race bay. It was kind of poignant in that every single second of running up until that point had been done on a dyno, and this time it was running on its own in the back of a car in a race bay, and to hear it fire up was it was a really emotional moment for me. It was the RB22, the Red Bull chassis, and the DM01, the Red Bull Ford Powertrains engine, coming together as a pure Red Bull thoroughbred. It was very special indeed…”
Oliver Mintzlaff, CEO of Corporate Projects and Investments of Red Bull, said: “This is a new chapter for us. Building our own engine and bringing it to life on track is a remarkable step for our brand. We’re optimistic and truly excited to go live with our car and our power unit. There will be significant regulatory changes in 2026. Yes, the power unit is a major part of that, but there are many other elements as well. We took a similar risk when we entered Formula One back in 2005, and that mindset hasn’t changed.”
Jim Farley, CEO of Ford Motor Company, said: “When we first crossed paths with Oracle Red Bull Racing four years ago, we felt that the Red Bull swagger matched our spirit. Four years later, tonight marked a checkpoint where we can celebrate the work put into this incredible project. An energy drinks company building their own Formula One power unit is a remarkable story, and Ford are privileged to have been on this journey with them. We’re so proud to launch here in Detroit where we’ve been able to celebrate our motorsports heritage in a place that has seen the American automotive story get to where it is today.”
Christian Hertrich, Ford Racing Powertrain Chief Engineer: “In Formula 1, speed isn’t limited to race day. If it takes you 16 days to print a prototype part, you might have lost the race before the car even hits the track. That is why one of Ford’s most immediate contributions to our partnership with Red Bull Powertrains has been in the world of advanced manufacturing. By leveraging our state-of-the-art 3D printing technology, we’ve slashed that 16-day manufacturing window down to just five. When you can refine designs three times faster, you aren’t just engineering — you’re hunting the competition.
“As the Ford Racing powertrain chief engineer, my challenge is to merge Ford’s 125-year winning culture with Red Bull’s relentless agility and 20-year history of winning. Led by Red Bull, Ford Racing is supporting the build of an F1 power unit from the ground up for the 2026 season, and the pressure is daunting. We are currently fabricating unique, highly complex components for the combustion engine, charge air system, and energy recovery systems — parts that are being refined in real time between our teams in Michigan and Milton Keynes. But hardware is only half the battle. As newcomers to the 2026 regulations, we are fighting a decades-long experience gap against established manufacturers. We cannot afford to wait for traditional simulations to crunch numbers. To bridge that gap, one of our simulation engineers at Ford Racing, Kevin Ruybal, developed a unique controls model working in partnership with the Red Bull team in Milton Keynes.
“It runs a staggering 1,000 times faster than real time. This model has become our primary tool for controls and calibration, allowing our drivers to feel the engine’s behavior in the simulator and provide feedback before the physical hardware even exists. This digital intelligence extends deep into battery energy usage. Engineers like Sam Angeli and Mike Huang are working with Red Bull engineers at Red Bull Ford Powertrains HQ to solve the puzzle of how to deploy electric power in concert with combustion power. Mike has developed a sophisticated tool using dynamic programming that effectively acts as a real-time strategist, advising the system on exactly when to dump or save energy to find the fastest way around the track including energy calibration and drivability.
“The heat management strategies and state-of-charge calculations we are refining for the 2026 grid are the same building blocks that will eventually allow a future electric Ford truck to tow further and charge faster. We are using the world’s most innovative laboratory to ensure our customers get the innovation they deserve. The road to March 2026 is a massive undertaking, but seeing our embedded engineers working seamlessly in Milton Keynes proves what is possible when two world-class teams unite. We are working night and day to be ready. F1 is the ultimate proving ground, and the Blue Oval and the Red Bull Powertrains teams are ready for the challenge.”
Will Ford on return to F1: https://www.fromtheroad.ford.com/us/en/articles/2026/ford-returns-to-formula-1-racing
Here’s liveries of Red Bull, Visa Cash App RB
[The story is as per press release]
