 | |
| Formula One World Championship career | |
|---|---|
| First entry | 1951 German Grand Prix |
| Last entry | 2004 Brazilian Grand Prix |
| Races entered | 528 (523 starts) |
| Constructors' Championships | 10 (1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1978, 1980, 1981) |
| Drivers' Championships | 13 (1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1994) |
| Race victories | 176 |
| Podiums | 533 |
| Points | 4286.5 |
| Pole positions | 139 |
| Fastest laps | 159 |
The Ford Motor Company, an American car manufacturer, has participated in Formula One in various forms since the 1960s. [1] Ford-badged engines have won 176 Grands Prix, 10 Constructors' Championships and 13 Drivers' Championships, ranking third in Formula One history. [2] Throughout its history in the series, Ford's involvement has been through partnerships with specialist manufacturers, with a focus on marketing rather than technical involvement. [3]
Contents
- Cosworth DFV era (1967–1985)
- Turbo era and naturally aspirated return (1986–1997)
- Ownership of Cosworth and Jaguar Racing (1998–2004)
- Partnership with Red Bull Powertrains (2026–)
- References
- External links
Although Ford engines started seven races between 1963 and 1966, [4] it was in 1967 when Ford officially entered Formula One as an engine supplier through its partnership with Cosworth, introducing the Ford-Cosworth DFV engine. The DFV – developed by Cosworth, with Ford providing funding – won on its debut at the 1967 Dutch Grand Prix with Lotus' Jim Clark and claimed its first Drivers' and Constructors' Championships in 1968 with Graham Hill and Lotus-Ford. The DFV was powerful, reliable, light, compact, easy to work with and relatively affordable, becoming the most popular engine of its era with the majority of teams using it from the late 1960s to the early 1980s. Between 1967 and 1983, the DFV won 155 Grands Prix, 12 Drivers' Championships and 10 Constructors' Championships – Lotus, Matra, Tyrrell, McLaren, Williams and Brabham all secured titles with it.
As turbocharged engines became prevalent in the 1980s, Cosworth developed Ford-badged turbo power units such as the GBA, though these achieved limited success. Ford continued supplying naturally aspirated engines after the turbo era ended in the late 1980s, with teams such as Benetton, McLaren, Jordan, and Tyrrell using Ford-Cosworth engines. Ford's sole World Championship success during this period came in 1994, when Michael Schumacher won the Drivers' Championship with Benetton-Ford. Ford subsequently increased its involvement with Cosworth by purchasing the race engine division of the company in 1998.
Between 1997 and 1999, Ford provided works support for the newly formed Stewart Grand Prix team. The team achieved a race victory in 1999 before being acquired by Ford in 2000, when it was rebranded as Jaguar Racing to promote the then Ford-owned Jaguar brand. Across five seasons, Jaguar Racing never won a Grand Prix, scoring two podiums and a best Constructors' Championship finish of seventh, before Ford withdrew from Formula One at the end of the 2004 season, selling both Jaguar and Cosworth. Ford engines took a single win during the 2000s, with Jordan at the 2003 Brazilian Grand Prix.
Ford remained absent from Formula One until announcing its return as a power unit partner for Red Bull Powertrains beginning in the 2026 season, coinciding with new regulations focused on increased electrification and sustainable fuels.
