The bright blue colouring of Ford will feature more prominently on the cars of both of Red Bull’s Formula 1 teams in 2026.
Red Bull and Racing Bulls revealed their latest colour schemes in an event in Detroit, the home of the ‘blue oval’, one of the world’s largest car manufacturers.
Ford left F1 when it sold its Jaguar team to Red Bull at the end of 2004. Now it is returning as a contributor to Red Bull’s new power unit programme. The units will power both teams’ cars this year.
Neither team is expected to reveal their new 2026 cars publicly before the first pre-season test later this month at the Circuit de Catalunya, which will take place behind closed doors.
Red Bull has taken the opportunity to revive the “gloss look” colour scheme it used when it entered F1 21 years ago. As well as featuring the “famous Ford blue”, the team drew inspiration for its latest look from its original livery.
Team principal Laurent Mekies, who is leading Red Bull into a new season for the first time, said “the team have done an incredible job to be here today and to be in the position to go to [the] Barcelona shakedown [test] with our own car and our own power unit for the first time ever.
“This is the result of the efforts of 2,000 people at the Red Bull Technology Campus, the most talented group that you can find and they have been working together to get us to this moment. It is the beginning of an extremely exciting journey for all of us and we will take to the track as one – one Red Bull chassis and power unit.”
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Both Red Bull’s cars will feature new racing numbers this year. Max Verstappen can no longer use the number one of the reigning world champion but has not returned to the number 33 he used previously. He will drive with number three, having become the first driver to change his career number since they were introduced by the FIA in 2014. He also has a new team mate, Isack Hadjar, who will drive car number six.
The team presented its livery through a dramatic stunt in which an aeroplane pulled a cover from a car. The footage, featuring Czech pilot Martin Sonka, was filmed in Czechia.
Red Bull also revealed the first power unit it has developed will be named DM01, in honour of founder Dietrich Mateschitz, who died in 2022. Ben Hodgkinson, the engine programme’s technical director, said: “To get to this moment where we can finally launch the first-ever Red Bull Ford Powertrain means a lot to myself, and the several hundred people that have poured their passion into this project with hours and hours of hard graft.”
Racing Bulls, Red Bull’s junior F1 team, will also incorporate Ford’s blue colours but retain the predominantly white colour scheme it introduced last year.
Pictures: 2026 Red Bull livery
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Pictures: 2026 Racing Bulls livery
This article will be updated
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