Christian Horner has now begun his gardening leave after Red Bull sacked the Briton after 20 years as their F1 team principal and CEO, as talks continue about his pay-off.
News emerged this Wednesday that Red Bull had relieved Horner from his operational duties with immediate effect, with Racing Bulls chief Laurent Mekies taking the 51-year-old’s place. Yet Horner remains under contract, as his deal does not lapse until after the 2030 F1 season.
Red Bull sacked Horner without telling him why he was being let go on Tuesday, with Mekies now the second team principal that the Milton Keynes natives have ever known. Horner had led the team since 2005, having joined after Red Bull bought the ailing Jaguar outfit off Ford.
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Cadillac held ‘behind closed doors’ talks about hiring Christian Horner at Silverstone
Some F1 rivals could now be positioning themselves to hire Horner once the sacked Red Bull chief finalises his severance package to leave the Austrian energy drink brand’s team. Ferrari view Red Bull firing Horner as a once-in-a-lifetime chance to sign him, but may not be alone.
F1 will welcome General Motors to the paddock next year via its Cadillac brand, who named Graeme Lowdon as their team principal in December. Yet Auto Motor und Sport reports that Cadillac had ‘already’ discussed the idea of them signing Horner before Red Bull sacked him.
Talks took place ‘behind closed doors’ at last week’s British Grand Prix, which Cadillac opted to send Lowdon and TWG CEO Dan Towriss to as the team strive to finalise their driver line-up. But Cadillac also debated the prospect of hiring Horner in some capacity at Silverstone.
Cadillac believe Horner would be the ‘ideal’ figure to hold a senior role with the team ahead of their debut in 2026. He could also help GM as it begins designing a works power unit that Cadillac intend to run from 2029, given Horner also led the creation of Red Bull Powertrains.
Horner can also give Cadillac a greater presence than Lowdon, who previously led Marussia during the team’s ill-fated time in Formula 1. The Briton could even help Cadillac gain more political power from the start, as Horner is close to FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem.
Christian Horner is in talks with Red Bull over a pay-off potentially worth £50m
Red Bull’s in-house engine division was Horner’s brainchild after learning that Honda wanted to withdraw from F1, only for Honda to then agree to become Aston Martin’s factory engine partner for the 2026 F1 regulations. Cadillac will field Ferrari engines for their debut in 2026.
Horner enjoyed control over Red Bull Racing and Red Bull Powertrains, so he can be a useful asset for Cadillac with General Motors striving to have works engines in the coming seasons. But Horner is likely to be serving gardening leave at least through the remainder of this year.
Talks are also ongoing about the Briton’s pay-off to leave Red Bull, given Horner’s contract is not due to expire until the end of 2030. The Telegraph reports that Horner may be in line for a £50m pay-off, which his lawyers could look to increase to £60m if his deal is paid up in full.
Horner’s Red Bull contract made him the highest-paid F1 team principal as he earned £8.9m in 2023 and he likely got another pay rise in 2024 due to Max Verstappen winning his fourth title. But Red Bull will use the likelihood of Horner getting another job to reduce his pay-off.
