Christian Horner’s financial settlement with Red Bull has been revealed in newly filed company accounts, and the figure is substantially larger than earlier reports suggested. According to 2025 financial documents filed with the UK’s Companies House, Horner received a combined £100.482 million in compensation for loss of office from Red Bull Racing and Red Bull Technology following his departure in 2025.
The filings provide the clearest public breakdown yet of the financial agreement that ended Horner’s two-decade tenure with Red Bull. Horner was removed from his positions as Red Bull Racing CEO and team principal on July 9, 2025, before formally leaving the wider Red Bull Group in August. Companies House records show that his directorship of Red Bull Racing ended on August 13, 2025.
RED BULL PAID HORNER MORE THAN £100 MILLION TO END HIS CONTRACT
The largest payment came from Red Bull Technology, which recorded £66.988 million as compensation for loss of office for its highest-paid director. Red Bull Racing separately recorded another £33.494 million, taking Horner’s disclosed loss-of-office compensation to £100.482 million.
The Red Bull Technology accounts also list £9.029 million in remuneration and £10,000 in pension contributions for its highest-paid director. Red Bull Racing recorded an additional £4.441 million in remuneration before Horner’s departure.
Because the filings refer to the recipient as the highest-paid director rather than naming Horner beside each payment, the identification comes from the circumstances of his departure and his position within the companies. Horner had served as a director of both Red Bull Racing and Red Bull Technology, with Companies House records confirming his departures in August 2025.
WHY WAS CHRISTIAN HORNER’S RED BULL SETTLEMENT SO LARGE?
The size of the payout becomes easier to understand when considering Horner’s contract. At the time of his dismissal, he reportedly had an agreement running through 2030, meaning around six years remained. BBC Sport reported in September 2025 that Horner was earning approximately £10 million annually and had a contract extending to 2030.
Horner later said he was not given a detailed explanation for his dismissal beyond Red Bull believing that the team’s performance had declined and that it wanted to move in another direction. Speaking about his departure, he said that when he pressed for an explanation because he still had six years left on his contract, he was told Red Bull had become “more Christian Horner Racing than Red Bull Racing.”
The settlement followed an exceptionally turbulent period for Horner. In 2024, a Red Bull employee accused him of inappropriate behavior, allegations Horner denied. Independent investigations and a subsequent appeal did not uphold the complaint. Red Bull did not publicly state that those allegations were the reason for Horner’s eventual dismissal in July 2025.
HORNER’S 20-YEAR RED BULL ERA ENDS WITH RECORD-SIZE PAYOUT
Horner joined Red Bull when the team entered Formula 1 in 2005 and became the longest-serving team principal on the grid. During his tenure, Red Bull won six Constructors’ Championships and eight Drivers’ Championships, including title-winning eras with Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen.
The newly disclosed accounts therefore put a definitive figure on one of the most expensive executive departures in Formula 1. Earlier reports had suggested settlements ranging from £50 million to £80 million, but the Companies House filings reveal that the combined compensation for loss of office was £100.482 million.
Horner has since indicated that he remains interested in returning to Formula 1, making the enormous Red Bull settlement not necessarily the final financial chapter of his career in the sport.
