RED BULL RACING could potentially lose another key man if Christian Horner departs due to a contract clause, claims a shock report.
Motorsports was rocked on Monday when an investigation was launched into team boss Horner over allegations of “inappropriate behaviour”.
The Formula One team are looking into claims made against the 50-year-old by an employee of the company.
Horner, the husband of Spice Girl Geri Halliwell, has “completely” denied the claims made against him.
Sources say the allegation concerns Horner’s strict work regime rather than sexual impropriety.
But Red Bull, who boast the current world champion Max Verstappen as their star man, said it “takes these matters extremely seriously” as an independent investigation was launched.
READ MORE ON CHRISTIAN HORNER
Horner, who earns an estimated salary of £8million at Red Bull, and the team have been preparing for the 2024 season.
But the team’s plans could have been thrown into turmoil following these explosive allegations.
And F1 journalist Joe Saward has now taken to X, formerly known as Twitter, to claim that things could get even worse.
He speculated over the future of Red Bull’s chief technical officer Adrian Newey amid the Horner controversy.
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He wrote: “It has long been believed that Christian Horner and Adrian Newey have contracts that protect one another.
“If one leaves the other can as well.
“This has never been confirmed – but it makes for an interesting dynamic if something was to happen to Horner…”
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The 65-year-old Newey has been with the team since 2006.
The first race of the upcoming campaign is in Bahrain on March 2.
Horner has been leading the Milton Keynes-based Red Bull since their arrival on the grid in 2005 and has overseen a huge period of success.
Red Bull has won seven drivers’ championships and six constructors’ championships under him and they won 21 of the 22 races as Verstappen claimed the drivers’ title last season.
Away from the track, Horner married Geri, 51, in 2015 and they have one child together, Montague, seven.
Horner is also stepdad to Geri’s daughter Bluebell Madonna, 17, and has another daughter, Olivia, 10, from a previous relationship with ex-partner Beverley Allen.
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, 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
🏁 Complete F1 2024 race calendar – details on every Grand Prix and start time this year 🏁
Source: Motorsport - thesun.co.uk
