The less than year-old business relationship between Ford Performance and the Red Bull Racing Formula 1 team may have just hit its first bump in the road.
In early 2023, Ford announced a technical partnership with Red Bull to aid in the development of hybrid power units for the Red Bull and Visa Cash App RB race teams for the 2026 season and beyond.
While it may be a leap to say that partnership is in jeopardy, Ford is clearly monitoring recent allegations levied against Red Bull F1 team principal Christian Horner for ‘inappropriate behavior.’ Neither the results of an internal investigation or the exact nature of the allegations have been made public.
“As a family company, and a company that holds itself to very high standards of behavior and integrity, we do expect the same from our partners,” said Mark Rushbrook, global director, Ford Performance, on Friday at Daytona International Speedway. “It appears to us, and what we’ve been told, was that Red Bull is taking the situation very seriously. And of course, they’re worried about their brand, as well.
“And that’s why they’ve got an independent investigation and until we see what truth comes out of that, it’s too early for us to comment on it all.”
Mike Pryson covered auto racing for the Jackson (Mich.) Citizen Patriot and MLive Media Group from 1991 until joining Autoweek in 2011. He won several Michigan Associated Press and national Associated Press Sports Editors awards for auto racing coverage and was named the 2000 Michigan Auto Racing Fan Club’s Michigan Motorsports Writer of the Year. A Michigan native, Mike spent three years after college working in southwest Florida before realizing that the land of Disney and endless summer was no match for the challenge of freezing rain, potholes and long, cold winters in the Motor City.