Here's the thing about Formula 1: when a titan falls, the numbers involved are simply staggering. According to Crash.net, Christian Horner walked away from the Red Bull Formula 1 team with a payout worth more than £67million following his sacking. It is a wild end to a 20-year tenure at the helm that brought immense success.
Horner was relieved of his dual role of Red Bull team principal and CEO in the days following the 2025 British Grand Prix at Silverstone. But that initial figure is only part of the story. Red Bull Technology Limited’s 2025 financial report declares that the 52-year-old Briton was also given £9.029m in “compensation for loss of office.” That brings the total package to just over £76m, with the settlement finally reached in September 2025.
Huge congratulations to Red Bull Ford Powertrains, Max and the whole team. An incredible achievement!
In a recent interview with The Times, Horner confirmed that he had six years remaining on his Red Bull contract when he was fired. His removal from office came over a year after a female employee made allegations of inappropriate behaviour against him. Horner always denied any wrongdoing and was cleared by two separate investigations, which dismissed the employee’s complaint.
Since being axed by Red Bull, Horner has been continually linked with a return to F1. Recently, speculation over the future of Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur has seen Horner once again linked with the Italian giant. Horner himself added more fuel to the fire by admitting publicly for the first time that he would be interested in joining Ferrari, describing the top job at Maranello as being “the dream” in F1.
Despite his exit, Horner offered his congratulations to Red Bull and Max Verstappen after the team secured a landmark first F1 victory with new engine partner Ford at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia. “From a hole in the ground to race winner in five years,” Horner wrote on his Instagram story. “Huge congratulations to Red Bull Ford Powertrains, Max and the whole team. An incredible achievement!” Horner had played an instrumental role in setting up the Red Bull Powertrains project and subsequent collaboration with Ford before his sacking.
