A Formula 1 team that would go on to become one of the sport’s modern powerhouses began its journey with a remarkably unusual takeover: Red Bull acquired Jaguar Racing from Ford in November 2004 for a reported nominal fee, widely described in later accounts as just £1. The exact purchase price was not officially disclosed, but the deal came with a major commitment from Red Bull to finance the operation and keep it competitive. Autosport’s original 2004 report said Ford wanted assurances that the buyer would invest more than £200 million over the following three years. A 2026 Motorsport.com retrospective also describes the sale as a symbolic £1.
A struggling Jaguar team found a new owner
Jaguar Racing had entered Formula 1 after Ford bought Stewart Grand Prix and renamed the outfit for the 2000 season. Despite the investment and the prestige of the Jaguar name, the team struggled to deliver the results Ford wanted. It finished seventh in the 2004 Constructors’ Championship with 10 points, and Ford decided to withdraw from Formula 1 as part of a wider effort to reduce costs. BBC Sport’s account of Ford’s F1 history and Formula 1’s team-history feature trace the transition from Stewart to Jaguar and then Red Bull.
Red Bull founder Dietrich Mateschitz saw the acquisition as an opportunity to move beyond sponsorship and take direct control of a Formula 1 team. The purchase also gave the energy-drink company an established racing operation, experienced personnel and a place on the grid without having to build a team from the ground up. At the time, Red Bull said full ownership made strategic sense and connected with its existing junior-driver programme. Autosport’s report on the announcement recorded Mateschitz’s explanation of the decision.
From the RB1 to six Constructors’ Championships
The newly named Red Bull Racing team made its debut in the 2005 season with the RB1, a car developed from Jaguar’s existing design and powered by a Cosworth engine. The team scored 34 points and finished seventh in the Constructors’ standings in its first campaign. It was a modest beginning, but the operation had inherited a foundation on which it could build. Red Bull Racing’s official RB1 history confirms the car’s origins, engine and first-season points total.
The breakthrough arrived in 2009, when Red Bull became a regular front-runner and finished second in the Constructors’ Championship. A year later, the team won its first title, beginning a run of four consecutive Constructors’ Championships from 2010 through 2013. Its later championship-winning period came in 2022 and 2023, taking its total to six teams’ titles. Formula 1’s 2026 team preview confirms the six-title record and the team’s championship history.
Those achievements were powered by some of the sport’s most successful driver partnerships. Sebastian Vettel won four consecutive Drivers’ Championships with Red Bull between 2010 and 2013, while Max Verstappen added four more from 2021 to 2024. The team’s success transformed the value and reputation of the operation Ford had been unable to justify keeping in its portfolio. Formula 1’s historical team profile details the drivers’ and constructors’ championship totals.
Ford returns — this time as Red Bull’s power unit partner
The story has come full circle in 2026. More than two decades after selling Jaguar Racing, Ford has returned to Formula 1 through a technical partnership with Red Bull Powertrains. The collaboration supports the development of the Red Bull Ford power unit, with Ford contributing expertise in areas including battery cells, electric motors, power-unit control software and analytics. The partnership was announced in 2023 and was designed for the sport’s new 2026 power-unit regulations. Ford’s official announcement outlines the agreement and its technical scope.
Ford’s return is not simply a branding arrangement. The company is providing technical knowledge for the hybrid power-unit project, while Red Bull is taking on the challenge of operating its own powertrain programme. Ford says the partnership is planned to run from 2026 to at least 2030, bringing the two companies together on the grid after their very different experiences in the early 2000s. Ford Racing’s Formula 1 overview describes its 2026 role and the Red Bull Ford programme.
A deal that changed the direction of both companies
Looking back, the Jaguar sale stands as one of Formula 1’s most consequential team transactions. Ford exited a costly project, while Red Bull gained an established team and turned it into a six-time Constructors’ Championship winner. The reported token purchase price makes the story memorable, but the more important part of the agreement was the long-term investment commitment and the decision to build a serious racing operation around the team. Motorsport.com’s 2026 retrospective examines the business and sporting context behind the deal.
Now, with Ford supplying technical expertise to the Red Bull power-unit project, the former seller and buyer are working toward the same competitive goal. What began as Ford’s exit from Formula 1 has become the foundation of a partnership in the sport’s new technical era — an extraordinary turnaround in the history of the championship. BBC Sport’s report on Ford’s return and Ford’s partnership announcement provide further details.
Photo credits: Calreyn88 and Mathieu Felten via Wikimedia Commons. Images used under their respective Creative Commons licences, linked in the captions.