Former Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner officially severed all ties with the Formula 1 team on Monday, insisting his two decades at the team had been “an honour and privilege”.
Horner, married to Spice Girl Geri Halliwell, was sacked by the team in July and leaves the Milton Keynes outfit amid rumours he could be returning to the Formula 1 grid as early as next year.
The BBC report that Horner’s pay-off amounts to £52m.
The 51-year-old had been touted as one of a trio of figures, with Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore, behind a potential bid for Alpine, a threesome Mercedes co-owner Toto Wolff described as “the shark mafia” in August.
Horner had been part of Red Bull Racing since 2005 in a tenure that saw six constructor and eight driver titles – four apiece for Max Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel.
He had been rocked by accusations of inappropriate behaviour towards a female employee, something he was cleared of by an investigation having always denied the claims.
Proud Horner
Horner said he is “incredibly proud of what [Red Bull achieved], adding that he “would also like to thank the shareholders, the late Dietrich Mateschitz for the opportunity he gave me as a 31 year old”.
Red Bull’s Oliver Mintzlaff thanked Horner, adding that he will “forever remain an important part of our team history”.
A return to Formula 1 next year would coincide with major changes to the sport, with Cadillac joining with an 11th team on to the grid and the likes of Audi, Honda and Ford entering the sport once again, or for the first time.
Red Bull’s spell of dominance appeared to end last year, when McLaren won a first constructors’ championship under their new ownership. Despite this, Verstappen was able to pick up his fourth solo title.
The outfit are a distant second to McLaren in this year’s team title.