Formula 1 leaders hoped on Sunday that the matter concerning Christian Horner, the director of the Red Bull team targeted by an internal investigation, would be “clarified as soon as possible.”
“We have taken note that Red Bull has launched an independent investigation into internal accusations at Red Bull Racing. We hope that the matter will be clarified as soon as possible, following a fair and thorough process, and we will make no further comments at this stage,” the Formula 1 leaders wrote in a statement sent to several media outlets almost two weeks after the revelation of this investigation.
Christian Horner (50), boss of the Red Bull team since its creation in 2005, has been in turmoil since the Dutch daily De Telegraaf revealed that the Briton was the subject of an internal investigation after being accused of “inappropriate behavior” towards an employee. “This procedure, which is already underway, is being carried out by an external specialist lawyer (at Red Bull, Editor’s note). The company takes these matters very seriously and the investigation will be completed as soon as possible. It would not be appropriate to make any further comments at this stage,” a spokesperson for parent company Red Bull said on February 5.
Quoted by De Telegraaf, Horner immediately indicated that he “completely rejects these allegations”. The manager was interviewed by a lawyer for several hours in London on February 9, but no decision regarding his future with the team was announced at this stage. “It would not be appropriate for us to comment until the investigation has been completed,” a Red Bull Austria spokesperson said that day. Last Thursday, Horner was present at the premises of the Austrian team in Milton Keynes (England) when the latter unveiled its new car for the 2024 season. Asked about the state of mind currently reigning in the team, the Briton had simply replied: “there was inevitably a diversion in the team which remains very united, everyone is focused on the season to come. Everything is going on as usual.”
On a personal level, “I am focusing on the coming season, business continues as normal. It is obvious that there is an investigation to which I comply and to which I fully collaborate. But all this happens in the background,” he assured journalists. Horner has been director of Red Bull since the team’s debut in F1 in 2005. Under his era, the team has won seven world drivers’ championship titles, four for German Sebastian Vettel (from 2010 to 2013) and three for the Dutchman Max Verstappen (from 2021 to 2023), as well as six world constructors’ crowns (2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2022 and 2023). Last year, the Austrian firm crushed the competition by winning 21 of the 22 Grands Prix.
