Details of Christian Horner’s multi-million pound pay-out emerge

More details about Christian Horner’s multi-million pound payoff from Red Bull have emerged.

Horner formally left Red Bull 10 weeks after he was sacked on Monday after negotiating a severance package believed to be worth up to £80m as reported by British newspapers The Times and the Daily Mail.

The deal, which has made Horner a very rich man, was so large due to him being the director of multiple companies within Red Bull, and because he had a  long-term contract through to 2031.

More details have now been reported by Sky Sports News reporter Craig Slater.

“What I understand and I confess, I haven’t seen the actual severance document itself, but the best-placed sources I’ve been able to get in touch with, have given me a feeling of roughly $100m, which is a little bit below £80m - around about £75m,” Slater said.

“The reason it’s such a big payoff, and by the way Christian Horner could have had a bit more money had he not made certain decisions in this negotiation process, is that Horner was the director of multiple companies within the Red Bull framework.

“Chiefly among those Red Bull Racing, the Formula 1 team, Red Bull Powertrains, which is building the new engines in conjunction with Ford to power the team next year onward, and Red Bull Advanced Technologies, which is the arm which spreads F1 tech into other areas and can be very profitable. That’s why the pay-off is so big. He was contracted until 2031."

Will Christian Horner return to F1?

According to Slater, Horner agreed to a smaller pay-out package so that he would be free to return to a role within F1 earlier.

“He has taken a bit less money in order to make himself free again to rejoin Formula 1 competition in 2026,” Slater explained.

“It won’t be from the beginning of 2026, but he would say be able to work for, or be part of, another team, before next summer. So let’s say late Spring 2026 Christian Horner could be back on the F1 scene again.”

When asked if Horner, who has been linked with Alpine, wants to return, Slater replied: “My understanding is that yes he does. The batteries have been recharged.

“He has been very much occupied with negotiating this severance, that’s the first thing to say, so he has not turned his mind fully and examined all the potential avenues to bring him back at this point.

“Interesting to dwell on what he has been doing since he left operational duties in the summer break. He’s been a full-time dad, he’s been doing the drop-off, the pick-up from school every day, I’ve been told. He’s been to see Oasis and Coldplay. So he’s had a bit of music.

“He’s going away with Geri Horner, his famous wife - the ex-Spice Girl - on holiday for a week now. When he comes back from that he will turn his attention to what might be the next steps in rejoining the fray as it where.

“He still thinks he has a lot to give. He’s only 51. He has money behind him now, some extra money and I think he wants to get right back up there if he can. He’s a competitive animal.

“This did hurt him, it did set him back, it was a painful exit from a company he felt he had developed into a world-beating operation. But this maybe gives him an opportunity to be more than just a team boss.”