Ford's Journey in Formula 1
Ford made its debut in Formula 1 back in 1967 in collaboration with the London-based engineering firm Cosworth. Cosworth, a company started by two former Lotus employees, Mike Costin and Keith Duckworth, contributed to the partnership. This collaboration was the birth of the famous "Cos-Worth" connection.
In 1966, Cosworth teamed up with the European division of Ford Motor Company, creating the iconic DFV (Double Four Valve) engine. The DFV engine had a profound and lasting impact on Formula 1 racing for over two decades.
After a year of development, on June 4th, 1967, Graham Hill placed the Lotus 49, powered by Ford-Cosworth, in pole position at the Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort. Jim Clark later won the race driving the same Ford-Cosworth-powered Lotus, as Hill faced mechanical issues. This partnership had produced a potent engine capable of winning at the highest level. This process was documented in a 1967 documentary by the Ford Motor Company called "9 Days in Summer."
After breaking an exclusive deal with Colin Chapman at Lotus, Ford-Cosworth became the standard F1 engine for many teams, including McLaren, Tyrrell, Hesketh, Lola, Williams, and Penske. The DFV engine triumphed in over 150 F1 races in the following two decades.
In the mid-80s, the introduction of turbo engines changed Formula 1 again. These turbocharged engines were larger, heavier, consumed more fuel, and had lag, posing a challenge to the compact DFV engines on longer and faster circuits that demanded horsepower and speed.
To adapt to this new competition, the Ford-Cosworth team continued to develop new engine variations, such as DFY and DFZ. The DFR engines became the most powerful among the DFV variants, peaking at 620BHP, while competing turbo engines from Ferrari and Honda pushed 650BHP. These powerful and reliable engines not only dominated F1 but were also adopted by many Indycar teams in the CART series, resulting in a ten-year winning streak at the Indianapolis 500 from 1978 to 1987.
Ford would join Benetton in 1988 and operate as a works team until 1994. The DFR engines were retired in 1993 after nearly a 30-year run. During the 1995-1997 seasons, Ford would supply engines for Forti Corse (95), Pacific (95), Simtek (95), Minardi (95-96), and Tyrrell in 1997
In 1997, Ford partnered with Jackie Stewart and his son to form Stewart Grand Prix, which operated as a Ford Works team from 1997 until 1999, when Ford bought the team outright to promote their premium car company, Jaguar Racing.
Jaguar Racing had limited success in its five seasons in F1, with Eddie Irvine achieving third place in the 2001 and 2002 seasons. In 2001, former American driver Bobby Rahal managed the Jaguar team and brought in Niki Lauda and Adrian Newey to help boost the team's performance.
After several seasons of modest success, Ford exited the team entirely in 2004. Red Bull Racing acquired the Jaguar team in 2005, embarking on their journey towards becoming a dominant and multi-world championship-winning team. While Ford was not part of Red Bull Racing's inaugural season in 2005, Cosworth remained their engineering partner for one season before being replaced by Ferrari as the engine supplier. Cosworth remained in Formula 1 until the 2014 season.
After a two-decade hiatus, Ford returned to Formula 1 in early 2023, announcing a future partnership with Red Bull Racing as an engine supplier from the 2026 season until 2030.
