Christian Horner told by ‘senior’ figures how much buying the smallest F1 team would likely cost

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Christian Horner is still on the hunt for his next project in Formula 1, and the 51-year-old may have to fork out a lot more money than he first realised if he returns to the paddock in the desired capacity.

Following his finalised exit from Red Bull Racing, Martin Brundle revealed Horner’s only desire to return to F1 is if he gets a stake in a team, unlike the role he played at the Austrian constructor, where he was simply an employee.

Horner was reportedly paid out around £80m in the severance package from Red Bull. The figure was said to have been reduced by £30m in order for him to make a return to the paddock as soon as he possibly can, which is understood to be during next season’s summer break.

Aided by his highly successful 20-year tenure at the team, which saw Red Bull become eight-time drivers’ champions and six-time constructors’ champions, the payout was also understood to help him in his bid to buy a fraction of an F1 team in the future.

However, according to a report from The Athletic, he may come up short on the bidding price unless he is able to find some partners to enter business with.

READ MORE: Christian Horner told which team is his ‘only viable option’ to return to Formula 1 next year

Christian Horner has been told how much he needs to spend to gain a stake in an F1 team

There are pros and cons to go along with every team on the F1 grid being the next team that Horner decides to lay roots at, with the majority of them remaining tight-lipped over the prospect of the 51-year-old returning with them.

Alpine, Aston Martin and Haas have all been touted as viable options for the capacity in which he wants to make a comeback, and it’s also been reported that Horner is being ‘wooed’ by Ferrari in light of the poor performance that Fred Vasseur has extracted from the Scuderia.

The Ferrari direction may be more feasible for him, following the most recent valuation of the ‘smallest’ F1 teams by ‘senior paddock figures’.

The Athletic reports that they are worth somewhere in the region of $2bn (£1.5bn), which could throw a spanner in the works for the 51-year-old, given that the figure dwarfs the sum that he received from his former employers.

The ballooning valuations are a result of the huge growth that F1 has experienced in recent years, thanks to the work that Liberty Media has put into making the sport more appealing to the masses.

The report goes on to state that Horner would ‘likely require’ putting together a consortium with a number of other investors in order for his return to come to fruition.

As an experienced leader in the field of F1 management, it’s likely that he would be able to find some like-minded individuals with deep enough pockets to aid his desires.

READ MORE: Two drivers Christian Horner could realistically sign if he sets up own F1 team after Red Bull exit

Christian Horner would potentially take up a different role than team principal upon his return to F1

The Athletic’s sources have suggested that the 51-year-old has already ‘held talks’ with a number of groups in regards to acquiring the right amount of financial support, which has given him the ‘confidence’ that he would be able to acquire a stake in an F1 team.

If a deal goes through, he’s likely to be thrust at the helm of a racing outfit as a chief executive rather than a team principal, something that Horner has always been ‘jealous’ of Mercedes chief Toto Wolff over.

It would give the Brit a lot more freedom to run the team how he pleases, which was one of the reasons for his exit from Red Bull in the first place.

A power struggle was rife at Red Bull during Horner’s final days due to the fact that he wanted a say in every aspect of the team’s day-to-day operations.

The high-profile nature of his departure, which was one of the more shocking bombshells to break during the current F1 campaign, means that everyone on the grid is aware of the reasons for it.

When, not if, he does return to the paddock, it will be fascinating to see the capacity in which he is leading a Formula 1 team.