Red Bull accounts reveal £33.494m Horner exit payment

Red Bull Racing paid Christian Horner £33.494 million in compensation following his dismissal in 2025, according to Companies House accounts examined by RacingNews365. The disclosure covers the racing team alone, rather than every Red Bull business in which he held a directorship.

Horner lost his roles as team principal and chief executive on 9 July 2025, despite having a contract running until 2030. His formal resignation as a director of Red Bull Racing Limited followed on 13 August.

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What the accounts disclose

The filing records the payment against the “highest paid director” as “compensation for loss of office”. Although Horner is not identified by name in that entry, RacingNews365 reports that he was the company’s highest-paid director and had earned £4.441 million in salary before his removal.

The £33.494 million relates to compensation paid during the remainder of the financial year, which ended on 31 December 2025. It does not include any settlement from Red Bull Powertrains or Red Bull Advanced Technologies, where Horner also served as a director.

That distinction leaves the full value of his departure package unresolved. RacingNews365 reports that the overall settlement was understood to be potentially worth more than £50 million.

Any further payments made from 1 January 2026 could appear in the following year’s accounts, due to be filed with Companies House on 30 September 2027.

Departure ended two decades in charge

The decision to remove Horner came from Austrian parent company Red Bull GmbH. Laurent Mekies moved across from sister outfit Racing Bulls to take over leadership of the team.

Horner’s 20-year tenure had delivered eight drivers’ championships, six constructors’ titles and 124 grand prix victories.

According to RacingNews365, he was understood to have relinquished some money owed to him in exchange for a shorter gardening-leave period, allowing a potential return to Formula 1 in 2026 if he secured a role.

Horner has said he would prefer his next involvement to include a place in a team’s ownership structure rather than solely an employed position. He has also indicated that he would be willing to put that ambition aside for the Ferrari team principal role.

Red Bull’s annual profit rises

The same accounts show Red Bull Racing recorded a net profit of £9.384 million for 2025, compared with £1.681 million in 2024.

Turnover increased to £379.583 million from £314.409 million. After cost of sales, gross profit stood at £104.205 million, against £23.676 million a year earlier.

Expenses and interest brought the 2025 pre-tax profit to £11.075 million, up from £2.895 million in 2024. The final post-tax result represented a year-on-year improvement of £7.703 million.