RACING: Red Bull say Ford partnership much more than a 'marketing deal'

Red Bull has dismissed suggestions that their Formula One partnership with Ford is merely a branding exercise, as the team prepares to race with its own engine for the first time.

Dan Towriss, chief executive of the new General Motors-backed Cadillac team, was recently quoted as saying that Ford's association with former champions Red Bull was "a marketing deal with very minimal impact."

However, Red Bull Ford Powertrains technical director Ben Hodgkinson disagreed. Speaking ahead of a team livery launch in Ford's home city of Detroit, Hodgkinson emphasized the depth of the collaboration.

"We're super-proud of our partnership with Ford, and it is very much a partnership," he said.

Hodgkinson explained that while the majority of the engine team was sourced from the industry, assembling 700 specialists in a short period inevitably left a few gaps. "Ford have managed to provide some people to patch a few of those holes, which has been great. So yes, there's a direct involvement, and it makes it absolutely fair to call it a partnership," he added.

Red Bull is developing its engine at its Milton Keynes campus in central England and has recruited heavily from rival teams. According to Hodgkinson, the biggest benefit of the collaboration has been access to Ford's state-of-the-art manufacturing capabilities.

"We're able to make very complex 3D parts—parts so complicated you can't machine them because of their geometry," he explained. "And we can produce them really fast because Ford's expertise in this area is world-class. That's been a very big advantage."

Hodgkinson also highlighted Ford's buying power as a major benefit when sourcing components. "If you want to try and get an electric vehicle component supplier to be interested in supplying 50 bits, they’re just not interested—there’s not enough margin for them. But if Ford goes knocking on the door, people answer. Having that name associated with us has been very, very useful."

Meanwhile, Cadillac will continue racing with Ferrari power units until at least 2029, when General Motors hopes to introduce its own engine.

-Reporting by Alan Baldwin in London; Editing by Christian Radnedge/Reuters