The start of the Formula One season was a nightmare for Red Bull Racing and Christian Horner. Before a wheel had turned in anger the paddock was consumed with the tale of a female employee taking action against the Red Bull boss for “inappropriate behaviour.”

As expected from the Piranha club, the response was mass hysteria and calls for transparency immediately dominated the F1 headlines, eclipsing even the fact that Lewis Hamilton had announced he would be driving for Ferrari in 2025.

The independent investigation instigated by Red Bull concluded there were no charges for  Christian Horner to answer. Then a co-incidentally timed and mysterious leaked email to around 150 senior members of the F1 paddock, propertied to show the evidence against the Red Bull boss.

 

 

 

Valid reasons for “Reporting Restriction Order”

Again on the employees appeal of the original decision, Horner was exonerated and the matter slowly faded into the long grass as Red Bull began having troubles on track.

As TJ13 wrote at the time, the matter was not over for the Red Bull boss given the UK employment law now allowed for the employee to apply for a hearing before an employment tribunal. These are not the matter of days or months and now it comes to light that hearing will take place in January 2026. Of course, should there be a resolution to the matter in the meantime, the hearing will be abandoned, yet as over a year has passed since the story broke, the likelihood of the matter being settled remains dim at present.

One of the reasons there has been little reported on the matter is that the English press claim to have been “muzzled.” De Telegraph reports today this was due to the Horner camp obtaining a so called “Reporting Restriction Order” (RRO) in April last year. Many complied although TJ13 continued to carry the facts of the story when developments came about.

RRO’s are a perfectly acceptable means to surpress excessive press speculation over an issue where there are significant legal implications which ensue from  improper reporting, which in turn may skew the view of a judge who finally gets to rule on the matter.

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Horner exonerated at every turn

This is why there are few headlines today on the latest development from the UK media, who are concerned they will be held in contempt should they breach the RRO in fashion without implying fault on Red Bull or Christian Horner’s behalf, as is often their want.

The initial allegations last February led to an internal war apparently instigated by the newly appointed guardians of the Red Bull Racing parent company in Austria who were appointed following the death of founder Didi Mateschitz. There were calls for Horner to step down as he was ‘tearing the team apart,’ although these were mostly led by mouth piece Jos Verstappen.

Jos Verstappen even accused Christian Horner of blocking him from taking part in a Red Bull on track demonstration at the team’s home race in Austria. While it appears troubled waters between Jos and Christian have now been calmed, the tension yet remains and should Red Bull start the season the back foot, Jos is likely to go on the attack once more.

TJ13 believes Christian Horner was the victim of an internal power struggle which sought to remove him from his position as Red Bull team principal. The new autocrats installed in Austria clearly failed understand it is not merely Max Verstappen who has brought success to the team, but Horner himself who built the organisation from the ashes of the Jaguar F1 Racing team.

FIA latest rule change following Bahrain testing

 

 

 

Wolff stirs the pot over Red Bull trauma

Of course Sebastian Vettel was ‘found’ by Dr. Helmut Marko who runs the Red Bull junior racing academy, but it was the confidence of Christian Horner in the young German who gave him his big break in the Red Bull Racing team.

This decision was clearly justified as Vettel went on to spearhead RBR’s first success in F1 as he and the team one quadruple championships back to back form 2010-2013. The internal dispute appeared to be finally settled when the 51% majority Thai share holder arrived on the scene. Paddock picture showed Chalerm Yoovidhya together with Christian Horner and the Austrian directors all in the Red Bull hospitality area with the suspicions Chalerm had backed the Red Bull boss to the hilt.

The matter may well have found its roots in the fact that one of the Austrians had some previous experience in Red Bull football team, Leipzig RB. Certain reports from Europe suggested he fancied taking an active role in the F1 organisation, something order rightly resisted.

With Lewis Hamilton leaving Mercedes, the fall out from the internal dispute saw Toto Wolff try and maximise the pain the Red Bull boss was suffering. Talk of Max joining Mercedes became the talk of the paddock, while Wolff by name and by nature attempted to couch Red Bull’s Helmut Marko as the next Niki Lauda for the Brackley based outfit.

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Drive to Survive feature Red Bull troubles

The fact this story has reared its head is because de Telegraph, outside the UK’s legal jurisdiction, reported the date of the tribunal hearing in January 2026. The fact is that employment matters in the UK Caen take up to eighteen months to be heard and the case was listed several months ago as the second Red Bull instigated independent investigation had again exonerated the Christian Horner.

There has been much speculation over who the female employee may be, yet the ‘leaked’ documents, presumably from those wanting Horner to resign, suggested an element of entrapment was involved.

Christian Horner and his wife have presented a united from over the matter and it is even the subject of the first episode of the new F1 Drive to survive series which launches this weekend. As F1’s grandee team boss, Horner has delivered time and again for DTS over the years often playing the role of pantomime villain alongside that of the senior paddock voice given his twenty years since co-founding Red Bull Racing.

Episode one of season seven is entitled “Business as usual” which ironically reflects the story of Hamilton going to Ferrari along with the Red BullRacing team’s strife. The opening scene features Horern and his pop start wife reflecting on their record breaking 2023 season with Geri warning her husband to enjoy the moment because, “You never know what life’s going to bring.” Genius post event editing of course.

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New antagonist for Horner to fcae down

Red Bull do provide incredible access to the team despite the ongoing internal difficulties and then we skip to Bahrain where we find the next individual from the Piranha club picking a fight with Christian Horner.

No longer is the the usual foe Toto Wolff starring in the anti-Red Bull frame, but now the self promoted straight talking yank and the CEO of McLaren Racing now joins the fray. At the end of a heated press conference where Horner is obligied to answer with denials and ‘no comments,’ Zak Brown stirring the pot calls in a veiled attempt at innocence for “greater transparency.”

The under pressure Red Bull team boss is framed as handling the matter with competence as he explains to his communications director, “Zak is P*****.” Brown is the new villain pecking at Horner’s head throughout the year with calls that Red Bull should be banned from owning two F1 teams.

The reason this is allowed is due to the fact that Red Bull stepped up when F1 was in its hour of need and losing constructors and teams hand over fist. Come 2009 the F1 grid would have sunk to its lowest point in history with just nine teams on the grid without the presence of Toro Rosso.

The final episode of this season’s DTS demonstrates Zak Brown still trying to be a thorn in Christian Horner’s side as the Red Bull boss describes him as “f****** annoying.”

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Cadillac F1 confirmation for 2026 hits the rocks again

The trials and tribulations which the Andretti/Cadillac Formula One team has endured on its way to approval to race in the sport is not yet over. Andretti were knocking at the door back in February 2022 as motor racing legend Mario Andretti revealed.

“Michael [his son] has applied to the FIA to field a new F1 team starting in 2024,” he announced in a social media post on Friday 11th. “His entry, Andretti Global, has the resources and checks every box. He is awaiting the FIA’s determination.”

The irony of the timing was that the teas had signed just twelve months earlier a new Concorde Agreement which binds the FIA, FOM and the teams and race promoters into a legal framework. Within that document, which usually runs for at least five years, was the clause allowing an eleventh and even a prospective F1 twelfth team to join F1 for an anti-dilution fee of $200m… READ MORE