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Although Ford encountered difficulties during its last involvement in Formula 1, the American car manufacturer has left a lasting mark on the sport. As the Detroit giant prepares to make its return to Grand Prix racing, we look back at the legacy of the blue oval brand.
When Ford handed over the modest sum of £100,000 to two former Lotus mechanics in 1966, no one could have predicted that this money would revolutionize both the economics of Formula 1 and its soundscape. Mike Costin and Keith Duckworth, who had been tinkering with Formula 2 and 3 engines, turned that initial sum into the Cosworth DFV V8, a marvel with four valves per cylinder whose very name, Double Four Valve, became synonymous with “any team that could afford $10,000 per season could be competitive.”
The DFV's debut was almost cinematic. In only its second Grand Prix, Jim Clark drove a Lotus to victory at Zandvoort in 1967, proving that a customer engine could beat the factory teams on merit alone. Within a season, Lotus was the sole user, but the engine's combination of power, reliability, and, above all, affordability triggered a cascade: Matra, McLaren, Brabham, March, Tyrrell, Shadow, Hesketh, Penske, and Williams all signed up. By the early 1970s, more than half of the cars on the track were equipped with the Anglo-American V8, and the DFV's victory tally rose to 155 at the 1983 Detroit race, where Michele Alboreto's Tyrrell claimed the final triumph for both the engine and the team. The DFV was not only a high-performance engine, it was also a catalyst for championships. Between 1968 and 1982, it propelled nine drivers to the world title, from Graham Hill and Jackie Stewart to Nelson Piquet and Keke Rosberg, and helped five manufacturers win the Constructors' Cup, including Lotus, Matra, Tyrrell, McLaren, and Williams. However, its dominance began to erode with the arrival of turbocharged engines in the 1980s. Cosworth's naturally aspirated V8, still produced in its Northampton workshop, won a few symbolic victories: Alessandro Nannini's victory at the 1989 Japanese Grand Prix, Nelson Piquet's victory in 1990, Michael Schumacher's first triumph at Spa in 1992, and Ayrton Senna's masterful performance at Donington in 1993.
When the sport returned to naturally aspirated engines, the partnership between Ford and Cosworth briefly resurfaced at the top. In 1994, Michael Schumacher, driving the Benetton B194 designed by Ross Brawn, won his first world title, the first drivers' championship on a Cosworth engine since Rosberg's victory in 1982. But this triumph was short-lived: Benetton switched to Renault in 1995 and Cosworth was relegated to the back of the pack, supplying underfunded teams such as Pacific, Forti, Minardi, and Sauber.
A lifeline arrived in 1997 when the new Stewart Grand Prix team chose Cosworth as its supplier. This collaboration resulted in a surprise podium finish in Monaco and, even more memorably, a one-two-three finish at the 1999 European Grand Prix, with Johnny Herbert taking the win and Rubens Barrichello finishing third. Ford, keen to strengthen its hold on the sport, bought Stewart and renamed it Jaguar in 2000. The Jaguar era proved tumultuous: despite eye-catching liveries, the team struggled with reliability and internal politics, accumulating just 49 points and two podium finishes in five seasons.
At the end of 2004, Red Bull bought the struggling team, relaunched it under its own banner, and ushered in a new era of dominance. At the same time, Ford severed its ties with Cosworth, ending nearly four decades of involvement in the sport. Cosworth continued to operate as an independent engine manufacturer until 2013, but its last resounding success came in 2003, when Jordan, powered by a Ford-Cosworth engine, won the Brazilian Grand Prix in the rain with Giancarlo Fisichella. This victory marked the 176th and final victory for a Ford-Cosworth engine, coinciding with Jordan's 200th Formula 1 entry.
From a £100,000 gamble to a legacy of 176 victories, Cosworth's story is a testament to how a modest, well-designed solution can democratize a sport, fuel legends, and leave an indelible mark long after the final checkered flag has fallen.
Dizzying statistics
Ford-Cosworth ranks third among engine manufacturers with the most world titles, with ten crowns to its credit, the same number as Mercedes, behind Ferrari (16) and Renault (12). The Anglo-American collaboration won seven consecutive championships from 1968 to 1974, a streak eclipsed only by Mercedes' eight consecutive years between 2014 and 2021.
Between 1967 and 2004, the company powered cars in 567 Grand Prix races, the third-highest total after Ferrari's 1,054 and Renault's 701. During these races, it won 176 victories, or about 31% of the starts it participated in, with its first victory in the Netherlands in 1967 and its last in Brazil in 2003. This number of victories also places it in third position, behind Ferrari (243) and Mercedes (212). Ford-Cosworth also holds the top two records for consecutive wins. It won 22 consecutive victories between the 1972 Austrian Grand Prix (Emerson Fittipaldi in a Lotus) and the 1974 South African Grand Prix (Carlos Reutemann in a Brabham), and 20 consecutive victories between the 1968 British Grand Prix (Jo Siffert in a Lotus) and the 1970 Monaco Grand Prix (Jochen Rindt in a Lotus). Renault ranks third with 16 consecutive wins, followed by Honda with 11, then Ferrari and Mercedes with 10 each.
In qualifying, Ford-Cosworth ranks fourth with 139 pole positions (24.5% of its starts), behind Ferrari (244), Mercedes (220), and Renault (213). Its number of fastest laps is also lower than that of this trio, with 159 compared to 266 for Ferrari, 199 for Mercedes, and 176 for Renault.
From 2026, Ford will return to Red Bull's facilities in Milton Keynes, marking a comeback after a 22-year hiatus. This decision renews a partnership that began nearly six decades ago and offers the blue oval brand a chance to reconnect with its past glories alongside a team that knows how to reach the top.
