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Christian Horner has signed off at Red Bull with a settlement worth tens of millions of pounds that the controversial team boss hopes will allow him a swift return to Formula 1.
Red Bull is paying Horner about £80mn under the terms of the settlement, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. His contract, which ran until 2030, could have been worth north of £100mn including bonuses, the person added.
The team said in a statement on Monday that Horner was leaving the Milton Keynes-based team, in effect confirming that the terms of his exit had been agreed following weeks of negotiations.
The terms would permit Horner to return to F1 in the second quarter of next year at another team, the person said.
Horner, Red Bull F1 and Red Bull headquarters in Austria declined to comment on the financial details of his exit.
Horner led the team for about 20 years, sparring with rivals including Mercedes chief Toto Wolff and McLaren boss Zak Brown, and featuring in the Netflix documentary series Formula 1: Drive to Survive.
However, Horner came under scrutiny last year when a female staff member accused him of behaving inappropriately. He denied wrongdoing. The grievance was dismissed after Red Bull appointed a barrister to investigate the situation.
Horner remained at the team but performances declined and important figures such as designer and engineer Adrian Newey, sporting director Jonathan Wheatley, and Will Courtenay left Red Bull.
Horner, who led Red Bull’s racing, advanced technologies arm and powertrains divisions, was the longest-serving F1 team boss until he was sacked in July.
French engineer Laurent Mekies, who now serves as chief executive of Red Bull Racing, replaced Horner.
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen won this weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix and is third in the drivers’ league table, behind Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris of McLaren.
However, Red Bull Racing remains fourth in the standings, trailing McLaren, Mercedes and Ferrari.
Horner was just 31 when energy drinks tycoon Dietrich Mateschitz, who died in 2022, hired him to run the Red Bull F1 project.
“Leading Red Bull Racing has been an honour and privilege. When we started in 2005, none of us could have imagined the journey ahead — the championships, the races, the people, the memories,” Horner said.
Under Horner, Red Bull became one of the most successful teams in F1 history, winning 14 constructors’ and drivers’ championships, and signing major partnerships with companies such as Larry Ellison’s Oracle and automaker Ford.
Oliver Mintzlaff, chief executive of corporate projects and investments at Red Bull, said Horner “will forever remain an important part of our team history” and thanked him for his “exceptional work over the last 20 years”.
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