Christian Horner subject to Red Bull investigation over ‘inappropriate behaviour’
Christian Horner’s future as Red Bull F1 boss remains in the balance after he met with the lawyer in charge of the investigation into the team principal last Friday in London.
Horner has been accused of “inappropriate, controlling behaviour” by a female colleague and is currently at the centre of an investigation by the team’s parent company, Red Bull GmbH. The 50-year-old, who has been in charge of Red Bull Racing since its inception in 2005, strongly denies the allegations levelled against him.
Horner met with the external barrister at a secret location in central London on Friday. It is now a waiting game to see if the matter is resolved, one way or another, before Red Bull launch their 2024 F1 car at their base in Milton Keynes on Thursday (15 February). However, given the complex nature of the matter and the need for both sides to be fairly heard, the case could well overrun beyond Thursday’s launch event, which Horner is expected to be present at.
Horner was at Silverstone on Tuesday for Red Bull’s secret shakedown event. The new F1 season starts on 2 March in Bahrain.
Follow the latest news below.
Christian Horner investigation – latest news
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Christian Horner – latest: Horner and Ecclestone have a close friendship
Breaking the monopoly of Ferrari, McLaren and Renault, Red Bull stormed to four straight drivers’ titles from 2010-2013, with Sebastian Vettel in the cockpit.
Red Bull boss Horner was quickly making a name for himself with results on the track and influence off the track, gaining the trust and support of F1 supremo Ecclestone, who backed his entrance into F1 in 2005.
So much so, in fact, that Horner served as best man at Ecclestone’s wedding to third wife Fabaina in 2012, and then vice-versa when Horner married Halliwell three years later. Their straight-talking similarities seemed to trump the 43-year age gap.
(Getty Images)
Kieran Jackson14 February 2024 13:22
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Christian Horner – latest: Bernie Ecclestone denies reports he gave advice to Red Bull boss
Following a few reports that former F1 supremo and close friend of Christian Horner, Bernie Ecclestone, advised the Red Bull boss to step down, the man himself has posted on social media to deny the reports.
He said: “To clarify reports by newspapers that I had urged or suggested that Christian Horner should step down from his position in Red Bull is entirely UNTRUE.”
Kieran Jackson14 February 2024 12:40
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Christian Horner – latest: Key dates to know
The allegations against Christian Horner, which the Red Bull team principal strongly denies, arrived just as Formula 1 gears up for the new season, with pre-season testing in Bahrain just weeks away.
Here are a few key dates to know as the season draws nearer with Horner’s future still, seemingly, up in the air.
Thursday 15 February: Red Bull launch car for 2024 season
21-23 February: Preseason testing in Bahrain
Friday 23 February: New season of Drive to Survive available on Netflix
1-3 March: Bahrain Grand Prix
Kieran Jackson14 February 2024 11:59
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Christian Horner – latest: Will Red Bull face a more challenging 2024 season?
Speaking before the allegations were made, Christian Horner suggested that he expects a much more competitive season this year after Red Bull dominated the 2024 campaign.
“I couldn’t have imagined it in a million years,” Horner said of his team’s season, which saw Max Verstappen break records on his way to a third consecutive F1 crown.
“I don’t think we’ll ever see a repeat, certainly not in our lifetimes, of what we managed to achieve [last] year with a car that’s managed the kind of dominance of RB19 [the 2023 car].
“I’m fully expecting with stable regulations, [there’ll be] diminishing returns for us [this year] because I think we got to the top of the curve quicker than others.
“The field is going to converge. For us, it’s difficult to know who that will be. Will it be McLaren? Will it be Ferrari? Will it be Mercedes? It keeps moving around behind us. But that’s what we’re fully expecting going into [this] year.”
“There’s always a reset as you go into the following year. I’m convinced that you’ll see a lot more cars that look like the RB19 philosophy going into next year. If you stand still in this business, you tend to be going backwards. I think we have got up that curve quicker than others, but we’re into a law of diminishing returns.”
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner is facing allegations of ‘inappropriate behaviour’ (David Davies/PA)
(PA Wire)
Kieran Jackson14 February 2024 11:06
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Mercedes F1 2024 car launch LIVE: Start time and how to watch as Lewis Hamilton set to appear
If you want to follow Mercedes’ (and McLaren’s) car launch, our live blog is below:
Kieran Jackson14 February 2024 09:59
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Christian Horner – latest: Full details
The last four days have come and gone with no further updates on the allegations made against Christian Horner. Here are the facts as we understand them:
Red Bull Formula One team boss Christian Horner attended a meeting on Friday after allegations about his conduct that have cast doubt on his future.Horner is currently awaiting the outcome of an investigation into “inappropriate behaviour” levelled against the Red Bull boss by a female colleague.Red Bull Racing and the Austrian energy drink parent company, who have not detailed the nature of the complaint, have remained tight-lipped.The meeting was held in London at an undisclosed location, rather than at the team’s Milton Keynes factory. It lasted almost eight hoursRed Bull are due to launch their 2024 F1 car on Thursday in Milton Keynes ahead of the new season.Horner was at Red Bull’s secret shakedown event at Silverstone on Tuesday. It is expected that he will appear at the launch on Thursday.
Kieran Jackson14 February 2024 09:31
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Christian Horner – latest: Horner at Silverstone on Tuesday
Christian Horner was at a shakedown event for Red Bull on Tuesday at Silverstone – and is expected to be appear at the car launch tomorrow.
Red Bull were putting their new 2024 car through its paces during a secret shakedown event of the RB20 at Silverstone.
Max Verstappen drove the car in the morning with Sergio Perez in the cockpit in the afternoon.
It is thought the result of the investigation into the Red Bull boss could take weeks to be decided. The first race of the 2024 F1 season is on 2 March.
(Getty Images)
Kieran Jackson14 February 2024 08:10
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Christian Horner – latest: What we know so far
The last four days have come and gone with no further updates on the allegations made against Christian Horner. Here are the facts as we understand them:
Red Bull Formula One team boss Christian Horner attended a meeting on Friday after allegations about his conduct that have cast doubt on his future.Horner is currently awaiting the outcome of an investigation into “inappropriate behaviour” levelled against the Red Bull boss by a female colleague.Red Bull Racing and the Austrian energy drink parent company, who have not detailed the nature of the complaint, have remained tight-lipped.The meeting was held in London at an undisclosed location, rather than at the team’s Milton Keynes factory. It lasted almost eight hoursRed Bull are due to launch their 2024 F1 car on Thursday in Milton Keynes ahead of the new season.Horner was at Red Bull’s secret shakedown event at Silverstone on Tuesday. It is expected that he will appear at the launch on Thursday.
Kieran Jackson14 February 2024 07:14
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Christian Horner – latest: The cut-and-thrust F1 politics at play in Christian Horner and Red Bull’s power struggle
Comment by Kieran Jackson
Formula One team bosses come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Some take the top job with a résumé bristling in world-class engineering, like ex-Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto or current Williams team principal James Vowles. Some are businessmen at heart: Mercedes’ Toto Wolff and McLaren’s Zak Brown the clearest case-in-points on the current grid. But no matter the background, all of them must quickly master the art of politicking: engaging and thriving in the intricate and detailed politics of the sport. Or else, be swept by the wayside.
In this field, Christian Horner comes out on top. A team principal in 2005 at just 31 years of age, a feat executed by way of a close companionship with ex-F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone, 45 years his senior, the Red Bull boss has long been a master at the sport’s dark arts. Increasingly, as he enters 20 years in the sport, Horner has been the great white shark in F1’s “piranha club” – a term coined by ex-McLaren ringmaster Ron Dennis.
Yet for all his spin-doctoring and mind games in showdowns between big bosses and bigger egos – aired most recently on Netflix’s Drive to Survive – it is quarrelling in the background of his own Red Bull team that is the subtext to this week’s controversy.
Kieran Jackson14 February 2024 06:15
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Christian Horner latest – Daniel Ricciardo refuses to comment on allegations
Daniel Ricciardo spent several seasons as a Red Bull driver and is now back in the team’s stable at the re-titled Visa Cash App RB team.
Understandably not passing comment on the allegations made against his former principal Christian Horner, the Australian did admit that he felt like he was back “at home” after returning to the grid last season.
“Getting back into Red Bull and the family, I feel so much at home, so the truth is this is where I want to be,” Ricciardo told Reuters. “I am embracing it a lot more because a year ago I was unsure if I would race Formula One ever again …”
“Deep down I knew I wasn’t done but there was no guarantee I would be offered a seat again.
“I think it is a year when the team takes that step and (is) not seen as a Red Bull junior team anymore. It’s a team that is going to stand on its own two feet and hopefully make some noise.”
(Getty Images)
Kieran Jackson14 February 2024 05:22
