The latest twist in the Red Bull Formula One team drama is set to deepen this weekend as the sport arrives in Saudi Arabia for round two of the 2024 season. Team boss Christian Horner was acquitted last week of “controlling and inappropriate behaviour” following an eight week investigation conducted by an independent barrister.
The parent company of Red Bull issues at statement following the conclusion of the drawn out affair which said: “The independent investigation into the allegations made against Mr Horner is complete, and Red Bull can confirm that the grievance has been dismissed,” it read.
Red Bull refuse calls for transparency
The statement went on to confirm Horner’s accuser had the right of appeal but insisted “the investigation has been fair, rigorous and impartial.” Given the confidential nature of the process Red Bull stated it would not be revealing private information collected during the investigation out of “respect for all concerned.”
Yet F1 team bosses Toto Wolff and Zak Brown called for transparency along with future powertrain partner Ford. Lewis Hamilton joined the calls for openness suggesting the sport must uphold its “values” and ensure F1 is a “safe” place for people to work.
Christian Horner is slated to appear at today’s FIA team boss press conference and will undoubtably face another barrage of questions over the matter and claims made by his star driver’s father that his presence is staring the team apart.
Having supported Sergio Perez during his run of poor form last year, Horner has now received unqualified support from his Mexican driver. Checo dismisses Jos Verstappen’s claims of divisions within the team when he stated to assembled media.
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Red Bull suspend female accuser
“I think not only my support, I think the full team is fully behind him. He’s obviously a great guy. He’s a very important person in our organisation. The job that he’s done over the years speak for themselves. I think Christian is a key team player in this organisation. I think he’s fully focused on the racing side.”
Red Bull have not revealed the female has lodged an appeal against the decision to dismiss her accusations, but AP is now reporting she has been suspended from the team but remains on full pay.
A Red Bull Racing spokesperson when asked about this said: “We are unable to comment as it is an internal matter.”
Should the anonymous employee have lodged an appeal against the decision, it could be she has been removed from the Milton Keynes working environment for her own benefit but the team are yet to confirm whether this is the case or not.
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Is the Horner saga a sting?
Reports of a power struggle at Red Bull F1’s parent company have been rife for some time since the passing of founder Didi Mateschitz who suffered from terminal pancreatic cancer.
New GmbH board director Oliver Minztlaff who shuns the limelight as did Mateschitz is said to be attending this weekends Saudi Grand Prix, which clearly is a break from the norm as the ex Leipzig CEO is rarely seen with the F1 team.
The reason for Minztlaff’s attendance is as yet unclear, but rumours of him wanting to oust Horner and centralise the team’s decision making processes away from Milton Keynes have persisted for weeks.
TJ13 has repeatedly observed the entire saga has a sting feel to it and has not followed the usual ‘Kiss and Tell’ type revelations.
Max father explosive comments
Max Verstappen’s father claimed following the chequered flag in Bahrain that should Horner remain in charge of the team it would be ‘torn apart.’ When asked for his view yesterday, Max appeared to play things down though he did state his father was not “a liar.”
It is believed that Jos Verstappen will unusually be absent from the Red Bull garage this weekend, with his presence at a rally eventide cited as the reason.
The Thai majority shareholders who on the whole are private individuals chose to fly to Bahrain last week and be pictured on the grid with the man who has built the best marketing tool their energy drinks company has ever known. There have been reports the Thai 51% shareholders are in discussion with a a Horner led British backed financial consortium to buy the Red Bull F1 team which has angered the 49% Austrian shareholders led by Mintzlaff.
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F1 governing body stands accused
The FIA have refused to intervene in the Red Bull drama with a spokesman claiming last week they were powerless to act given the lack of a complaint to their compliance officer.
However, there have been complaints lodged against FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem suggesting he interfered with the result of last year’s Saudi Grand Prix. Fernando Alonso was initially penalised by the stewards because when serving a five second penalty, the Spaniard’s pit crew touched the car too early.
The decision to penalise Alonso was reversed relegating George Russell from his podium position. it is believed that the Mercedes driver is the source of the complaint against the FIA president but this all has the feel of the latest twist in the ongoing battle between Liberty Media and the FIA.
Ben Sulayem is also accused of requesting the Las Vegas track be refused its grade one certification weeks before the race was due. The completion of the facility was late and as transpired, the drain covers were not fixed properly and created a highly dangerous moment for Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz.
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Unsafe Las Vegas track
During practice one in Sin City, a cover came lose wrecking his ferrari car as the Spaniard hit top speed along ‘The strip.’ Sainz was then penalised with a ten place grid drop given the damage from the unfit circuit caused his team to use more components than allowed for the year.
Sainz went into the final two rounds 22 points ahead of team mate Leclerc, but the Vegas incident followed by sustained damage at the final event saw him fall behind his team mate in the drivers’ final standings.
READ MORE: Perez calls out Verstappen’s father
With over 30 years of experience in Formula 1 as an insider journalist, I have built trusted connections across the paddock, from race engineers and mechanics to senior team figures. At The Judge 13, I and a handful of trusted colleagues share exclusive Formula 1 news, expert analysis and behind-the-scenes stories you will not find in mainstream motorsport media.
Did she ever exist.
Are you kidding all if us? A woman complains ans us fired? Is thus 1850, or some Muslim belief that a man can’t be held responsible? Geri Spice is is just Greedy Spice! How can you blame the woman that made the complaint!
Was so upset I could barely write, shame on Greedy Spice! Guess you don’t want to lose 8 mil a year. Too bad your husband is a trying to cheat sod!
How much easier can it be to see the set-up here?!? Horner ticked off the Austrian contingent when he torpedoed the Porsche deal. Austrian contingent decides, “Horner must go”. They recruit Marko and Jos Sr to do the dirty work. The rumor that Jos Sr (a convicted abuser) was the one in the relationship with Hannah Schmitz (what, you haven’t noticed Rex Bulls senior strategist missing this year?!?) is building steam and both Jos Sr AND Marko go against Red Bull explicit instructions to keep this out of the media!
Jos Sr AND Marko both have to go simply because of keeping the fire lit under a ridiculous attempt to rid the team of Christian Horner. Both just HAD to run to the press again. If I was Christian I’d announce 1st thing Monday both are Persona Non Grata with immediate effect.
Max, the best driver, leave the best car?!? And run midfield where? Carlos Sainz would run roughshod over the field in the Red Bull!!!