Ford: We don't have an unlimited F1 budget

During their launch event of the 2023 F1 car, the RB19, Red Bull announced a partnership between their Red Bull Powertains subsidiary and Ford from 2026 onwards, the year when the new F1 power-unit rules kick in.

One would expect that a company the size of Ford would enter their upcoming F1 project with quite some deep pockets, but the American carmaker revealed they do not have a an open budget.

Speaking at the launch event, Rushbrook was asked whether Ford have "bottomless pit" of resources, to which he responded, quoted by F1's official website: "Definitely not bottomless, I can attest to that.

"We do go racing in a responsible way, I believe, in all the different series that we go," the Director added.

Rushbrook insisted that Ford has a more strategic approach to racing, rather than throwing unlimited money at it; he said: "We don’t have an unlimited budget.

"As much as racing sometimes wants you to go that way. We go in strategically with the right partners to win races, but also with a responsible budget," he insisted.

The Ford executive pointed out the benefits of their tie-up with Red Bull on the marketing side; in additional to technical know-how transfer between the two parties.

He explained: "I think this, as an overlay or additional programme, is very special in terms of what the opportunity is and what the real benefit is to the marketing team from our company, to be able to leverage motorsports in a way that we haven’t for a long time."

Ford have enjoyed quite some success in F1 back in he 60's and 70's as an engine supplier with Cosworth, and are the third most successful engine maker in the sport winning ten Constructors' Titles with Lotus, Matra, Tyrrell, McLaren, and Williams between 1969 and 1981.

They were less successful with their Jaguar F1 Team which they sold to Red Bull back in 2004 before leaving the sport.