A familiar Blue Oval is returning to racing’s premier stage.
It’s just about impossible to think about racing and not let your mind travel to the loud, intense, and uncompromising cars of Formula 1. With their incredible performance and the intense rivalry both on and off the track, the sport is one of the world’s most entertaining spectacles, and as a result, its exclusive number of teams garner quite a lot of attention and cachet from their participation. However, 2026 is a year that will mark a crucial turning point for Formula 1, as the sport has promised a radically different approach to sustainability by then, and that promise has sparked the interest of new contenders.
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Recently, Audi announced its arrival to the Formula 1 stage with racing mainstay Sauber as its partner in crime, and 2026 is the year when Audi will make said entrance. However, Ford has now also decided to throw its hat into the ring and announce a return to Formula 1 after what will then be a 22-year hiatus. When last Ford participated in the series, it departed in 2004, but as sustainability has become an increased focus for F1 as a whole, many brands are highly interested in participating come 2026.
Even in the 19 years that Ford has not had an F1 presence, the legendary brand still celebrates being the third most successful engine manufacturer in F1, with 10 Constructors’ championships and 13 Drivers’ championships. When it comes to us roadgoing auto enthusiasts, even ahead of this radical change, we have seen brand with F1 teams use innovation from the highly competitive sport to then innovate the brands’ roadgoing cars, and the hope that this will be the case for new brands joining the sport is an added bonus to an already exciting announcement.
Source: Ford