The latest rumors around Formula One is that the recently fired Red Bull Racing Team boss Christian Horner is looking to become a share holder and team principal of the Renault Alpine Racing Team. Horner is the most successful team principal over the last 20 years in Formula One.
Forget Horner joining Cadillac or Ferrari as he wants a share holding and one cannot blame him for thinking like this when you look at how the teams valuations have increased over the last 5 years. Formula One is on the up and so are the sponsorship deals along with the overall team values.
What has changed is the cost caps which has made the teams a highly profitable business instead of a money pit. These cost caps or budgets were introduced in 2021 limiting a teams overall spend at $135 million and only adjusted for inflation.
In 2024 McLaren topped the constructors table with 666 points which is 1 point being worth $1 million in prize money. These earnings exclude sponsorship deals so you can see how much money these teams are now earning as profit.
Over and above the constructors points which equals big money is the Concord Agreement between all the Formula One Teams and the Formula One Company. Ferrari are gifted $63.3 million each season as they have been with the sport since the start. The success bonus is what the teams have done over the last 10 years and the prize pot is what is distributed from excess F1 revenue at the end of the season. This money is over and above constructors points revenue and sponsorships. The Netflix Drive To Survive series has made the sponsorship deals more lucrative so this is a spin off bonus for all the teams.
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Ferrari is the highest valued team at $4.78 billion which is roughly a 200% increase since 2019. Mercedes is valued at $4 billion up 300% since 2019 and Red Bull $3.5 billion, McLaren and Aston Martin at $2 billion and the smaller teams valued at over $1 billion. These values are only going to continue to rise and is one of the best sporting investments out there.
One can understand Horner wanting a stake in a team which was never on offer with Red Bull. The likes of Toto Wolf owns 33% of the Mercedes Team having seen his value rise from around $400 million and now $1.3 billion. Horner was only earning a salary of $8 million per year so he was making good money but nowhere near what the owners are taking home. Ineos who own 33% in Mercedes after investing a reported $400 million last year took home $75 million which would have been $95 million but they pay $20 million as a main sponsor.
Adrian Newey left Red Bull after being offered a lucrative contract with Aston Martin that included a 5% stake holding. This would have made Newey a bigger earner than what Horner's contract offered even though he has been the Red Bull team principal of 20 years.
The Renault Alpine deal would make a lot of sense for Horner as the teams valuation is one of the smallest and he could buy in with a financial backer. Maybe Ecclestone the ex Formula One owner who backed his move opening up the position for him with Red Bull back in 2005. Money is not a problem as there would be many investors happy to shell out $300 million for a decent return.
Renault Alpine would be happy to have Horner as they would then have someone with skin in the game with 20 years experience leading the team. Renault could step away as they are no longer going to be supplying engines to the team. This would be a win win result as not only do they keep their future investment in the sport, but benefit from any technology innovations the team develops moving forward.
The Cadillac and Ferrari deals which were also rumored make no sense as Horner will firstly not have a stake in the team and his role would be reporting to stake holders and no different to what he had at Red Bull. Horner could only move to Renault Alpine in January as he is contracted to ed Bull till the end of this year and is expecting a pay out of around $50 million as he is contracted to 2030.