Last Updated on February 29 2024, 11:44 am

Late on the eve before the 2024 Grand Prix season kicked off on track, Red Bull HQ finally concluded their investigation into allegations against Christian Horner for ‘improper behaviour.’ The accusation according to media reports had come from a female employee based in Milton Keynes and ranged from alleged “controlling” behaviour to including a sexual element depending.

The matter has in fact been ongoing for around eight weeks, although the Formula One world only became aware of the matter on February 5th a few days before the big reveal of the new Red Bull F1 2020 challenger.

 

 

 

Red Bull HQ declare “complaint dismissed”

Red Bull HQ appointed an “external” lawyer to conduct the investigative process into the grievance which the organisation confirmed on Wednesday had now been dismissed.

They confirmed the female accuser had the right to appeal the matter, but immediately added they are confident “the investigation has been fair, rigorous and impartial.”

Of course from Christian Horner’s perspective the announcement of his innocence will be a welcome relief and must have impinged upon his and the team’s preparation for the start of the new F1 season. Yet whether the 89 word statement from Red Bull HQ has truly drawn a line under the issue is uncertain of a number of influential F1 voices are to be believed.

Despite the confidence Red Bull has in its process, the entire matter has been clouded in secrecy. No light has been shed on the substance of the original accusations or on how or when they came ton light. Even the identity of the barrister recruited is a secret and Red Bull’s position is that they are under no obligation to answer further calls for greater transparency.

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F1 senior figures not satisfied

“The investigation report is confidential and contains the private information of the parties and third parties who assisted in the investigation, and therefore we will not be commenting further out of respect for all concerned,” said the statement from Red Bull Austria. “Red Bull will continue striving to meet the highest workplace standards,” it concludes.

Yet this will not satisfy a number of senior figures in Formula One who called for transparency as the process was ongoing. Horner’s biggest adversary in the paddock Toto Wolff turned the topic into his own soapbox moment last week when he declared: “F1 and the teams, we stand for inclusion, equality, fairness, diversity. And it is not only talking about, it is living it day in and out.”

“These are standards we are setting ourselves. We are a global sport. We are role models,” concluded the Mercedes team principal.

Wolff’s moralising was a little rich, when at the time Christian Horner deserved the right of being presumed innocence until otherwise proven. Yet he was not alone in this grandstanding as Zak Brown of McLaren also entered the fray.

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Hamilton suggests people are ‘unsafe’

“I don’t believe these are the kinds of headlines F1 wants or needs,” said the McLaren CEO who has previously questioned Red Bull and Christian Horner’s integrity during the cost cap rows.

Just hours before the Red Bull announcement, Lewis Hamilton had added his own two penneth on the matter. “We always have to do more to make the sport and the environment that people have to work feel safe and inclusive and any allegations have to be taken very seriously.”

Hamilton’s call for more to be done suggests the status quo including the Horner saga in Formula One is one where people are not completely “safe.” Despite admitting he does not known what went on Lewis called on his fellow competitors to “stand true to our values.”

When asked about the latest F1 melodrama, Martin Brundle claimed: “I think its been a distraction for all of Formula One. I’m finding it an incredibly curious case. We’re in the inner sanctum, many of these people we’ve known for years and even decades. I know absolutely zero facts about this.”

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Lack of leaked information ‘surprising’

As Brundle notes the lack of leaked information from the Red Bull investigation has been surprising. This merely reveals all parties have been legally gagged but there still remains a hunt of suspicion that the entire matter was cooked up to serve an agenda to destabilise Red Bull and Christian Horner’s authority within the organisation.

Brundle however believes at the bottom of it all there is no smoke without fire and there was a case to answer when the allegations were made. “Clearly its a heavyweight topic and a very serious issue; you don’t have meetings for hours on end generating hundreds of pages if there’s nothing to talk about.”

Of course Christian Horner has always maintained his innocence in the matter and within the last hour responded to questions for the first time since the news broke.

“Look, I’m just pleased that the process is over. I obviously can’t comment about it but we’re here very much to focus now on the Grand Prix and the season ahead and trying to defend both of our titles,” Horner told Sky Sports.

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Brundle questions ‘is this is the end?’

Asked if the team was still unified, Horner said: “Within the team it’s never been stronger.”

Yet is this the end of the story? Red Bull did leave the door open for Horner’s accuser to appeal the decision. The big question is what will she do?

Of course it may be that Red Bull have ensured she will never talk in public having made a settlement agreement underpinned by a NDA (non disclosure agreement). Yet there is no guarantee this will be the final outcome and having heard the Red Bull confusion, Martin Brundle mused:

“Is this the end of the story or the beginning of another story?”

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Red Bull infighting may continue

The ex-F1 driver and respected Sky F1 pundit went on to suggest the entire matter may be due to political shenanigans going on in the Red Bull empire’s hierarchy.

When asked whether there was a rift in the Red Bull camp Brundle resounded: “I think there have probably been clashes – you’ve probably got to go back to when they lost Didi Mateschittz – the boss and the founder of Red Bull. I suspect he was a man who all decisions ended up on his desk, and that stopped [with his death].” 

“I would strongly suspect there’s an element of infighting to this but suspect its a much bigger picture.”

As the voice of F1 for many in the English speaking world, Brundle questioning whether the story is just beginning will be unwelcome from a Red Bull perspective, but yet may prove to be the case as the team for now attempt to draw a veil of secrecy over the entire matter.

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