By Alan Baldwin
LONDON, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Red Bull's two Formula One teams will hold a joint launch in Detroit next January to mark the start of a new engine partnership with Ford, they said on Tuesday.
The Red Bull Racing and Racing Bulls event will be on January 15, with Formula One's first test of 2026 scheduled behind closed doors at Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya on January 26-30.
The current season still has three rounds to run, ending on December 7 in Abu Dhabi, and Red Bull, winners of the last four drivers' championships with Max Verstappen, are the first to set a launch date.
Red Bull Ford powertrains will debut as a power unit manufacturer next season, the first of the sport's new engine era.
Both teams are currently powered by Honda units but the Japanese manufacturer will be exclusively partnering Aston Martin from 2026.
Red Bull team boss Laurent Mekies said the launch marked "a bold step into the future" and a culmination of years of collaboration between Red Bull and Ford.
"Since we announced our return to F1 with Red Bull, the Ford team have been working night and day to get ready for 2026. But this is about so much more than just the racing," said Ford CEO Jim Farley in a statement.
"It is about how we use our learnings from F1 to make our cars and trucks better for our customers. What we will learn together with Red Bull will define the technologies of the future and that is what excites me most about this relationship."
Ford will have American competition in F1 next season with a General Motors-backed Cadillac team making its debut and Ferrari-powered Haas already well established.
All 10 teams held a joint livery launch at London's O2 Arena this year to mark the 75th anniversary of the Formula One championship.
In 2023 Red Bull and Racing Bulls, under their previous name of AlphaTauri, held their launches in New York.
America is a key growth area for Liberty Media-owned Formula One, with three grands prix on the calendar and increasing sponsor involvement.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Toby Davis)
((alan.baldwin@thomsonreuters.com; +442075427933;))