CHRISTIAN Horner has made his first public appearance since bombshell claims of “inappropriate behaviour” were made against him.
The successful Formula One team chief was facing the cameras at Red Bull Racing’s season launch event today.
The 50-year-old turned up to the launch event at the team’s Milton Keynes HQ as planned.
He smiled as he initially appeared alongside former Red Bull driver David Coulthard.
As the pair reflected on the retired racing driver’s time with the team, Horner said: “It’s a very inclusive culture, it’s a team culture.”
He continued: “It’s everything. The men and women here at Milton Keynes, all the people behind the scenes.
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“It’s out of these industrial buildings that we’ve created these incredible cars.
“For me, Formula 1 is a team sport, and it’s the people that are the single biggest assets.”
Chief technology officer Adrian Newey then joined the duo and Horner described “keeping the team together” during Mercedes’ period of dominance.
Current world champion Max Verstappen and Sergio Pérez arrived as the team unveiled their incredible car for the F1 season ahead.
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The Dutchman, 26, said: “I guess time will tell. I’m excited. It’s always very nice to see a new car come to life, all the people around it.
“For me, it’s about looking forward to Bahrain, to get testing, get comfortable.
“It’s going to be a long season, and we just want to hit the ground running.”
Horner then told Sky News: “I feel the support within the business, within our partners, within the industry – it is overwhelming.
“There’s a process that’s ongoing at the moment. Some allegations have been made, which I fully deny and I have fully complied with that process and will continue to do so.
“I think it’s been very clear. In the position of Red Bull, it has been business as normal.
“The allegation is a process that Red Bull are running through and they confirmed that process externally.
For me, Formula 1 is a team sport, and it’s the people that are the single biggest assets.
Christian Horner
“But there’s a job to do – I denied fully the accusations and my role obviously continues.”
Horner was asked how he has been able to concentrate on his work with the accusations swirling around and coping being thrust into the spotlight.
He added: “I will continue to do so until the conclusion of the process, the internal process – I can’t tell you what that process consists of.”
In a separate interview to Dutch journalists, Horner added: “I have a very supportive family and a very supportive wife.
“My focus has been on the job and the season ahead. I’m not going to talk about private matters, but my family have been hugely supportive.”
The Red Bull launch was the final of this year’s ten F1 teams with all 20 cars being seen out on track ahead of the blockbuster season opener in Bahrain on March 2.
Horner is expected to stick to his work commitments over the coming weeks as the team gears up for the start of the F1 season.
This will include media obligations including interviews where he is thought to face questions over his position and his team’s preparation for the season despite the huge distraction.
However, questions about the probe into Horner will likely be declined until the official investigation report is presented to Red Bull at their base in Austria.
Horner faced an eight-hour grilling last Friday with Red Bull bosses over the accusations but the results of the crunch talks have not been made public yet.
It is believed Horner’s future at Red Bull hangs in the balance despite the new F1 season starting in just weeks.
Horner – who is married to Spice Girl Geri Halliwell – has reportedly referred to the allegations as “nuts” and said publicly: “I completely deny these claims.”
It comes after Horner joined the Red Bull team at Silverstone for a secret test run of the new RB20 car on Tuesday.
F1 teams are allowed two filming days to capture content of their cars on track – and it also offers the potential to run the car for the first time.
Horner was surrounded by his fellow Red Bull team in the video smiling and laughing as they all stood outside of the garage in the pouring rain.
WHAT HAS BEEN CLAIMED?
F1 was rocked earlier this month by the sudden news that the sport’s longest-standing team principal had been placed under investigation by Red Bull’s Austria-based parent company.
It has allegedly compiled a “dossier of incriminating material” regarding “inappropriate and controlling behaviour” towards one female, The Telegraph reported.
The Red Bull Racing boss, who has led the Austrian team since its formation in 2005, was quizzed by an independent barrister in a private location late into the afternoon last Friday.
The F1 chief was questioned for eight hours over his alleged “controlling behaviour”.
Horner forced a smile as he was picked up in a chauffeur-driven car from his North London home ahead of the critical hearing.
But an F1 source told The Sun last week that “Christian has not been sacked or asked to resign and he is not going to resign”.
They also revealed the investigation is nowhere near its end – with it potentially dragging into the new F1 season.
The insider said: “This is not a trial and we are not going to have an answer and an outcome by the end of the day.
It comes as…
“This is not something that is going to be rectified that quickly.
“People are expecting this to be over before the start of the F1 season, but that just isn’t going to happen.”
The investigation raises the question of who could take over the helm of the all-conquering racing team of world champion Max Verstappen.
His wife Geri Halliwell is also said to be “terrified her life will unravel” amid Horner’s “inappropriate behaviour” probe.
The ex-Spice Girl, who was “in floods of tears” when the Red Bull boss was hit with the bombshell allegations, fears the drama will drag on for years, a source has claimed.
But Geri, 51, is understood to be standing by her husband.
She has told pals: “Christian has done nothing wrong.”
Horner has overseen a huge period of success for the racing team – winning multiple F1 championships with Sebastian Vettel and Verstappen.
Red Bull has won seven Formula One world drivers’ championships and six world constructors’ titles under Horner’s leadership.
Last season, the team won 21 of the 22 races on the global F1 tour, and Verstappen, 26, won the drivers’ crown.
Horner was awarded a CBE for services to motorsport in the 2024 New Year’s Honours List.
A look at Christian Horner’s life and career
CHRISTIAN Horner is among the most well-known names in Formula One having helped build Red Bull into one of the biggest teams in the sport.
1973 – Born in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire
1991 – Wins a Formula Renault scholarship after impressing in karting races
1993-1997 – Competed in a host of competitions including British Formula Three, British Formula Two, and Formula 3000
1997 – Founded and developed the F3000 team Arden
1999 – Retired from driving and continued developing the Arden team
2005 – Appointed head of Red Bull team, becoming the youngest ever team principal at that time
2009 – Wins his first races as team principal with Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber
2010 – Wins the Constructors’ Championship and Drivers’ Championship with Vettel – the first of four doubles in a row
2013 – Has a daughter with ex-wife Beverly Allen shortly before the couple split
2014 – Gets engaged to Spice Girls member Geri Halliwell
2015 – Marries Halliwell in Woburn, Bedfordshire
2017 – Horner and Halliwell welcome their son
2021 – Wins another Drivers’ Championship with Max Verstappen, beating Lewis Hamilton on the final lap of the season
2022-23 – Red Bull win the Drivers’ Championship and Constructors’ Championship two years in a row
Source: Motorsport - thesun.co.uk
