Christian Horner's future as Red Bull's Formula 1 team principal is on the verge of collapse, as more details emerge into the investigation into his conduct, which implicated a female employee of the world champion team.
Horner is clearly doing everything he can to maintain his innocence, and the fact that Red Bull have called in an external arbitrator to conduct the investigation suggests that the team is also taking these allegations seriously. The result is make or break for the 50-year-old Briton.
De Telegraaf broke the original story about the internal complaint against Horner, which they now claim is a case of sexual misconduct based on WhatsApp texts seen by its reporters.
Dutch Bulletin reports: “App traffic between the Red Bull employee and Horner, seen by De Telegraaf, shows that Horner regularly sent sexually suggestive messages to the employee over a long period.
De Telegraaf's report adds that on February 2, Horner's lawyers made a settlement offer of £650,000 ($750,000) to the employee's legal team. It also details allegations of sexual misconduct against Horner which occurred “on a regular basis and over a long period of time.”
Despite the storm, Horner was present at the team's launch event last week and played a prominent role in the Formula 1 team's presentation of the new RB20 car. Red Bull drivers are triple Formula 1 world champions Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez as well as technical director Adrian Newey.
Speaking to journalists on the day of the launch and trial, Horner was adamant: “I deny anything, any of the allegations that have been made, so for me it is completely normal, with the focus on next season.”
Are the allegations against the Red Bull F1 boss sexual in nature?
However, if the allegations go beyond bullying or being a difficult boss and are indeed sexual in nature, it is certain that Horner will not remain in office for much longer. It is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore the evidence, yet he is innocent until proven guilty.
However, whatever happens (whether he is guilty or not), this is a scandal that no organization ever needs, let alone a Formula 1 team preparing for the upcoming 2024 season. Test this week! Simply embarrassing for everyone involved no matter how you look at it.
Horner fights hard in his corner, takes pole position at the launch and was present during the shakedown at Silverstone sticking to his 'business as usual' stance.
The saga has of course reached the offices of Liberty Media, which said in a related statement: “We have noted that Red Bull has instigated an independent investigation into internal allegations at Red Bull Racing. We hope that the matter will be clarified at the earliest opportunity, after a fair and thorough process, and we will not be commenting further.” at this time.
As for the timeline, British media reported that the investigation was conducted by an external arbitrator brought in by Red Bull GmBH, and the results are expected to be reached on Friday. It will then be sent to the Red Bull Board of Directors to decide what action to take with Horner. If any are already required.
Formula 1 testing begins in Bahrain on Wednesday, with Horner expected to be there as he has been since he took over the team's lead role at RBR in 2005. But will he stay in the Red Bull wall for much longer? Look at this space.
Big question: What's next for Christian Horner and the role of Red Bull team boss?
