Super-fast 3D printing and new simulation software: Ford’s work with Red Bull on the 2026 engine

Red Bull Ford Powertrains is born What initially seemed to be primarily a commercial partnership evolved into a technical collaboration as Ford executives began to familiarize themselves with the new F1 rules and with the idea of ​​being involved in the top racing series again. This is how Red Bull Ford Powertrains was born, the new engine division that will push Red Bull and Racing Bulls starting from the 2026 season and which, in addition to allowing the Milton Keynes team to eliminate the structural gap from Ferrari and Mercedes by becoming a manufacturer tout-court, allows the American company to reconnect with a glorious past. Ford’s work on the new F1 engine for 2026 On the occasion of the presentation of the 2026 livery of Red Bull and Racing Bulls in Detroit, Ford meanwhile did the honors by explaining the type of contribution made to the development of the hybrid power unit for the new season. A contribution that is precisely technical and also consists in the production capacity of the components for the Red Bull Ford Powertrains engine that will drive Max Verstappen. “If it takes 16 days to print a prototype – explains Ford Racing’s chief powertrain engineer, Christian Hertrich – you risk losing the race before the car even hits the track. That’s why one of Ford’s most immediate contributions to our partnership with Red Bull Powertrains was in the field of advanced manufacturing. By leveraging our cutting-edge 3D printing technology, we reduced the time needed for production from 16 to just 5 days.” The contribution of the US automotive giant does not stop here, with Ford Racing supporting Red Bull in the construction of 12 complex components for the internal combustion engine, supercharging system and energy recovery systems, developing synergies and real-time communication between the Milton Keynes headquarters and the Blue Oval operating base in Michigan. And then there is also the support in terms of software and simulation, which promise to reduce the gap in terms of experience that Red Bull and Ford have compared to manufacturers who have been producing power units for 10 years. Not just hardware: work on simulation software “Having returned to F1 with the 2026 regulations – adds the engineer – we are fighting a decades-long experience gap compared to established manufacturers. We cannot afford to wait for traditional simulations to process the data and, to fill this gap, one of our simulation engineers at Ford Racing, Kevin Ruybal, has developed a unique control model, working in collaboration with the team in Milton Keynes. It works at incredible speed, 1,000 times faster than real time, and this model has become our primary tool for control and calibration, allowing our pilots to sense engine behavior in the simulator and provide feedback before the physical hardware even exists. This digital intelligence also extends to the use of battery power. Engineers like Sam Angeli and Mike Huang are working on the puzzle of electrical power distribution in combination with that from the combustion engine.” Those mentioned by Hertrich are 2 of the 4 Ford engineers who worked directly in the Milton Keynes factories, who will however soon be diverted to the Hypercar for the return to Le Mans. However, other engineers will continue to work on the Formula 1 program remotely from the Detroit factories, whose working hours will be strictly counted for the purposes of tracking expenses for the cost head. Furthermore, the blue oval house does not exclude an increase in its commitment in the future, as has already happened in recent years, when the project has changed a lot compared to the initial plan which envisaged a simple marketing operation. Red Bull Powertrain and Ford will collaborate on the creation of the 2026 power unit Ford, racing and F1: a family affair For Ford in any case, racing and F1 have always been a family affair. “125 years ago, my great-great-grandfather Henry Ford – explains the director of Ford Racing, Will Ford – got into a race car that he had called ‘Sweepstakes’ (in Italian ‘Lotteria’, ed.). He was not a professional driver and was not the favorite to win. He was a man with his back against the wall but, on that October day in 1901, by winning on the dirt track at Grosse Pointe he didn’t just take home a trophy, but secured the investment that allowed the Ford Motor Company to exist. We were not just inspired by racing, we were born from racing. That’s why the atmosphere feels different right now, we’re returning to the top of motorsport, we’re returning to our identity. “When I first saw the new Red Bull and Racing Bulls liveries,” he adds, “I didn’t see a marketing asset, but I saw my family’s name returning to a global stage where we have unfinished business. We’re supporting the development of a Formula 1 power unit that is a high-voltage marvel, and it’s not a hobby. The battery systems and software we’re perfecting are the literal blueprints for the trucks and cars our customers will drive every day. We’re optimistic, but not naive, we know that the competition is fierce and Ford respects the challenge of F1. In racing you win and lose with the same elegance, but you never stop fighting. The Blue Oval is back where it belongs.”