Villeneuve drops ‘great asset’ Christian Horner claim after $100 million Red Bull settlement

With the final ties cut between Christian Horner and Red Bull, Jacques Villeneuve says the ousted team boss would be a “great asset” for any leading Formula 1 operation.

Horner departed Red Bull with a combined 14 World Championship wins as team boss on his CV. But, now free of his Red Bull connections and understood to be $100 million better off, where he pops up next in Formula 1 is an intriguing Villeneuve.

Jacques Villeneuve on Christian Horner: ‘He is a proven winner’

Horner was shown the door by Red Bull in a shock development following the British Grand Prix. His replacement was swiftly confirmed as Laurent Mekies, who stepped up from the Racing Bulls team principal role to lead Red Bull.

In August, updated company records showed that Horner had been removed as a director of Red Bull’s various F1-related operations. Skip forward to September 22, and Horner’s association with Red Bull was formally confirmed as over.

The exact financial details of the settlement reached with Horner are unconfirmed, but PlanetF1.com understands a figure in the region of $100 million (£74.2m) was agreed as a compromise.

“It is a big severance package,” Villeneuve, the 1997 World Champion, reacted as he spoke with a gambling platform.

Eight Constructors’ and six Drivers’ titles were secured during Horner’s Red Bull reign. PlanetF1.com understands that, in addition to the financial aspect of a compromise reached on Horner’s settlement, he could be free to return to F1 competition before the second half of 2026.

Horner’s friend, the former F1 chief Bernie Ecclestone, believes Horner will only return to Formula 1 if he can become a team shareholder.

Villeneuve looks forward to seeing how Horner’s future plays out, proposing that he would be a “great asset” for any team at the sharp end of the grid.

“The good thing is that both parties are now free and don’t have any liabilities and can move on,” Villeneuve continued. “That is a very good thing.

“Horner was a huge asset for Red Bull for many years, and he would be a great asset for any of the top teams. He is a proven winner. I’d be very curious to find out where he went next and in what capacity.”

More on Christian Horner and Red Bull from PlanetF1.com

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👉 PF1 Postbox: Horner severs Red Bull ties, and is Max Verstappen a title contender again?

Meanwhile at Red Bull, the Mekies era is starting to take shape. Verstappen has claimed back-to-back wins at the Italian and Azerbaijan GPs, giving him an outside shot at gatecrashing the Drivers’ Championship fight between McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.

Red Bull senior advisor Helmut Marko has been left very satisfied by the team’s transition from Horner to Mekies.

“I think that was the right decision,” Marko he’s reported as telling ServusTV, in regards to axing Horner for Mekies.

“In the complexity of Formula 1, a technician at the top is probably the better solution, everything is then built more from the technical side.”

In addition to Verstappen’s sniff of a fifth straight Drivers’ title, Red Bull is also back in the fight for second in the Constructors’ Championship.

Boosted by sixth for Yuki Tsunoda in Baku, the gap to Mercedes in second is only 18 points with seven rounds to go.

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