CHRISTIAN Horner’s fate at Red Bull will reportedly be decided within 10 days – leaving the F1 boss potentially out of a job ahead of the season opener.
Horner, 50, is facing a formal investigation over controlling behaviour and sexting allegations made by a female staffer – which he hopes will end as “soon as possible”.
Horner’s future at the all-conquering team of world champion Max Verstappen still hangs in the balance after shock allegations of “inappropriate and controlling behaviour” were made by a female staffer.
But in recent days, fresh claims allege that Horner also sent the colleague “sexually suggestive” texts.
The embattled Red Bull chief strongly denies the allegations.
Red Bull arrived in Bahrain on Tuesday evening for pre-season testing, with Horner still in his £8-million-a-year role .
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So far, it has been ‘”business as usual” in the pit lane – the team principal’s go-to phrase since news of the scandal broke.
However, results of the independent inquiry will reportedly be handed over to the Red Bull board in the next few days.
The probe threatens to overshadow the start of the new F1 season – but a final decision is expected before the opening Grand Prix race kicks off on March 2, the Mail reports.
Yesterday, he addressed the new bombshell sexting probe and declared he wanted a conclusion as “soon as possible”.
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He refused to comment directly on the allegations made against him during the press conference, stating “I cannot comment on the process or the time scale.”
“I think everybody would like a conclusion as soon as possible but I am really not at liberty to talk about the process,” he added.
The racing boss, who has led the Austrian team since its formation in 2005, was all smiles yesterday as he signed autographs, posed for selfies with fans and spoke to his drivers.
Other team principals have been calling for greater “transparency” in F1 in the wake of the scandal engulfing Red Bull.
Horner’s nemesis in the pit lane, Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff described it as “an issue for all of Formula One”, while Mclaren chief Zak Brown called the allegations “extremely serious”.
Brown hoped that they were being handled in a “very transparent way” and “swiftly” as “these are not the headlines that Formula One wants or needs.”
The bombshell claims that have rocked F1
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.
This was thought to be over a “dossier of incriminating material” regarding “inappropriate and controlling behaviour” towards one female, The Telegraph reported.
Red Bull’s Austrian parent company flew an independent lawyer to the UK to question the multi-millionaire race ace and his accuser.
The former racing driver, who runs world champion Max Verstappen’s all-conquering Red Bull team, endured an eight-hour grilling over the claims last week.
Most recently however, more allegations have come out as the De Telegraaf reported that Horner allegedly sent sex messages to his employee “over an extended period of time”.
Messages were said to have been saved and presented as evidence to the external barrister running the inquiry after the woman made a complaint last December.
Mr Horner categorically denied the new allegations and is thought to be taking legal action against De Telegraaf.
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”.
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
Last week, he spoke publicly about the allegations for the first time as he made an appearance at the recent RB20 launch event.
He said: “Inevitably there has been a distraction, but the team are very together.
“Everybody’s focused on the season ahead, so it’s been very much business as normal and the support has been fantastic.
“In situations like these, you see where the strengths are, and it’s been overwhelming the support that I’ve had from within the team.
“There have been some allegations made, which I fully deny, so that the investigation is very much going on in the background whilst preparing for the season ahead, and hopefully it will be concluded in the near future.”
And in one interview, he praised his Spice Girl wife Geri Halliwell and said: “I have a very supportive family and a very supportive wife.”
Halliwell, 51, is understood to be standing firmly by her husband, who she married in 2015.
She was allegedly reduced to tears when news of the scandal broke – but privately insisted he did nothing wrong.
Last weekend, she was pictured smiling alongside by her husband at a horse racing event in Badbury Rings, Dorset.
Red Bull has won seven Formula One world drivers’ championships and six world constructors’ titles under Horner’s leadership.
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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 motor sport in the 2024 New Year’s Honours List.
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, pipping 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
