Ford Racing’s global ambitions in 2026 take it to the deserts of Saudi Arabia for the World Rally Championship and epic race tracks like Italy’s Monza for the Formula One Championship.
But this week, the two series shared the streets of San Francisco.
The Ford Raptor T1 Ultimate off-road racer and Ford-partnered Red Bull F1 car danced an improbable duet Wednesday at the intersection of Broadway and Divisadero — the T1 vaulting over a spinning F1 car in a maneuver that would have made Olympic pair skaters proud. The F1-T1 due was a prelude to their dash Saturday down Marina Boulevard on San Francisco Bay.
The event is the first stop on the Red Bull Showrun’s national tour to showcase Ford’s racing efforts. The second stop is in Atlanta on March 28, with more stops to be announced.
The dynamic duo opened the San Francisco engagement Wednesday on the city’s famed hills.
On Broadway’s 11-degree incline, off-road racer Mitch Guthrie Jr. launched the Raptor T1 at 45 mph up a 5-degree ramp. Below him on Divisadero, ex-F1 driver Scott Speed performed donuts in the Oracle Red Bull Racing RB7, a car that was unveiled at Ford’s Michigan Central last month ahead of the auto show.
Ford Racing will turn up the volume Saturday when the two racers will be joined on Marina Boulevard by Oracle Red Bull Racing’s sister F1 team car from Visa Cash App Racing Bulls. Other Ford racing beasts will include a Mustang GT3 and F-150 Lightning. Expect lots of 360-degree burnouts (in four so-called 360-degree zones) as well as shows of pure speed. Red Bull F1 reserve driver Yuki Tsunoda, and freestyle motorcyclist Aaron Colton will join in the fun.
The California Showrun comes in the lead-up to the F1 racing debut of the Red Bull-Ford partnership March 8 in Melbourne, Australia. The race is the first of 24 across the world as Ford goes head-to-head against teams from Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren as well as crosstown rival Cadillac F1 for the first time in motorsport’s premier open-wheel series.
The Raptor T1 Ultimate racer is still dusting itself off from a 2-3 podium finish at the legendary Dakar Rally — run over 14 days and with a reputation as the Le Mans of off-road racing.
Following on a long racing heritage that includes Henry Ford’s victory at the 1901 Sweepstakes (securing investment for his fledgling company) and the Ford GT40’s 1966 Le Mans win (immortalized in the Oscar-winning “Ford v Ferrari” movie), the Blue Oval’s motorsports portfolio covers circuit racing, oval racing and off-road racing.
To open 2026, Ford has already won the off-road King of the Hammers 4600 stock class in Johnson Valley, California, and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck race at Daytona International Speedway with an F-150. Mustang GT3 and GT4 cars are also competing across the globe in multiple sportscar series.
The F1 and T1 cars represent the pinnacle of, respectively, on-road and off-road racing. F1’s first stop in North America will be the Miami Grand Prix on May 3.
Red Bull Showrun San Francisco takes place Saturday, February 21st from 4:00-7:00 PM EST.
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Ford Raptor T1, Red Bull F1 take over streets of San Francisco
Reporting by Henry Payne, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
