Christian Horner, the long-serving team principal and CEO of Red Bull Racing, has officially and irrevocably left the team following a lengthy negotiation over his exit package, according to statements released on Monday.
The formal departure comes more than two months after he was relieved of his operational duties in July. His severance is widely reported to be in the region of £75-80 million.
Red Bull’s announcement, issued together with Horner, confirms that he is no longer an employee of the Milton Keynes-based squad. Although he was dismissed from his leadership roles—team principal and CEO—on 9 July 2025, he had remained employed in one form or another while negotiations over the severance and “gardening leave” were under way.
In his final statement, Horner reflected on both his personal journey and the team’s evolution. “Leading Red Bull Racing has been an honour and privilege,” he said. “When we started in 2005, none of us could have imagined the journey ahead — the championships, the races, the people, the memories. I’m incredibly proud of what we achieved as a team breaking records and reaching heights no-one would ever believe were possible and I will forever carry that with me.”
He added that assembling and leading “the most amazing group of talented and driven individuals” has been his greatest satisfaction, particularly seeing them flourish “as a subsidiary of an energy drinks company” and compete with the world’s leading automotive brands.
Oliver Mintzlaff, Red Bull’s CEO of corporate projects and investments, formally thanked Horner in turn, highlighting his “exceptional work over the last 20 years” and noting that his “experience, expertise and innovative thinking” had been central to establishing Red Bull Racing as “one of the most successful and attractive teams in Formula 1.”
Horner’s sonorous exit ends what has been a storied tenure marked by both triumph and tension. Since taking over in 2005, Horner oversaw Red Bull’s transformation from a new team into a dominant force in Formula One.
Under his leadership the team secured eight Drivers’ Championships and six Constructors’ titles, with two distinct periods of dominance—first with Sebastian Vettel in the early 2010s, and more recently with Max Verstappen.
However, the final 18 months of his role were marked by mounting challenges. In early 2024, Horner was investigated over allegations of inappropriate behaviour made by a female employee. He denied the allegations, was cleared by an internal investigation, and later exonerated in a separate independent review.
Nevertheless, the incident and subsequent media coverage caused internal friction. Other senior personnel departed the team around this time, including designer Adrian Newey and sporting director Jonathan Wheatley. The team also experienced a dip in performance and increased scrutiny over its direction.
The precise sum of Horner’s exit package has not been officially confirmed by Red Bull, though multiple sources place it between £75 million and £80 million. Some outlets suggest that this figure is a negotiated reduction from what Horner might have earned had he remained under contract until 2030.
The agreement reportedly includes conditions that will allow him to return to the sport, possibly by mid-2026, once his “gardening leave” period concludes.
Since Horner’s dismissal, Laurent Mekies, formerly head of Racing Bulls, has been installed as his replacement. Under Mekies’ leadership Red Bull has begun showing signs of resurgence on track.
The exit also establishes clarity over internal dynamics that had appeared increasingly strained. Red Bull’s co-founders, notably the Yoovidhya family, who hold the controlling stake via Dietrich Mateschitz’s estate, and senior management figures including Helmut Marko, had, according to reports, engaged in discussions about control of the team and its future direction.
Performance pressures—especially relative to rising competition—and the risk of losing its star driver, Max Verstappen, were factors widely cited in analyses of what precipitated Horner’s removal.