Ford’s top management responds to Cadillac’s provocations, with the Ferrari partnership at the center of the debate.
The American rivalry heats up just days before the official start of the 2026 Formula 1 season. Ford has responded to Cadillac’s accusations by bringing Ferrari into the discussion, pointing directly at the agreement between the Italian manufacturer and the new American team. Ferrari, in fact, will supply power units to Cadillac until 2029.
The atmosphere is already tense even before the cars hit the track for the Barcelona tests. Cadillac has already completed its first on-track running at Silverstone, while Ford took part in the joint presentation event of Red Bull and Racing Bulls. Both brands have embarked on major challenges with their entry into – or return to – Formula 1, but the rivalry driven by their shared American roots has already made itself felt.
Ford’s accusations against Cadillac
The CEO of the new team preparing to debut in Formula 1 had previously attacked its rival manufacturer over the collaboration with Red Bull on power unit production, describing it as a move driven primarily by commercial and marketing considerations. Ford has now responded, highlighting instead Cadillac’s partnership with Scuderia Ferrari for the supply of engines starting from the 2026 season.
“I would say that, actually, the opposite is true,” Bill Ford said in an exclusive interview with The Athletic. “They are using a Ferrari engine. They are not using a Cadillac engine. If there is something that looks like a marketing deal, it is that.” This was his response to the comments made by Dan Towriss.
The work alongside Red Bull
Will Ford, global director of Ford Performance, also addressed the issue, going into detail about the collaboration with the Milton Keynes-based team: “Nothing could be further from the truth if we consider that our partnership with Red Bull is merely a marketing exercise,” he stated.
Red Bull has taken on the challenge of producing its own power unit for the first time in its history ahead of the 2026 season. This ambitious project has been made possible in part thanks to the involvement of the American manufacturer, which has supported the team in the development of the engine. In addition to the work carried out in Milton Keynes, Ford has also conducted several operations in the United States, significantly reducing production timelines.
“We made a very deliberate decision to form Red Bull Ford Powertrains as a genuine technical partnership, in order to truly support the bold effort that Red Bull has decided to undertake in developing its own power unit,” Will Ford added during the same interview with The Athletic.
The escalating tension between Ford and Cadillac highlights a fundamental philosophical split in how American manufacturers are entering the 2026 era. While Ford is positioning itself as a hands-on technical partner within the Red Bull Ford Powertrains project, Cadillac is facing criticism for utilizing a “white-labeled” Ferrari engine while building its own brand identity. This war of words between Bill Ford and Dan Towriss sets the stage for a narrative-driven season where the performance of the Ferrari-powered Cadillac versus the RBPT-Ford will be viewed as a definitive verdict on which American strategy was truly superior.
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