Christian Horner in fight to save his career at Red Bull over allegations
Christian Horner is understood to be fighting to save his career after allegations of inappropriate controlling behaviour were made against the Red Bull team principal. Horner has denied the claims and the team has still to make any formal comment regarding the ongoing investigation.
The team’s owner, energy drink manufacturer Red Bull, confirmed on Monday that it had launched an investigation into the 50-year-old’s conduct after a complaint. The accusations are believed to have been made by a female member of staff and were taken up with the owners rather than the Red Bull Racing team itself.
Horner, who remains in his post during the investigation, has made an emphatic rebuttal, stating: “I completely deny these claims” but has yet to make any further comment. The parent company, Red Bull, have also stated making any further statements would not be appropriate while the investigation, being carried out by an external barrister, is ongoing.
Horner has been team principal at
Red Bull since the drink manufacturer bought the team when it was Jaguar in 2004. He is now entering his 20th season with them and has enjoyed a remarkable period of success but it is understood that his position would be untenable if the allegations against him are proved.
The Williams team principal, James Vowles, said that while he did not have any insight into the allegations themselves or the “significance of what has happened” that the sport had to take all such issues seriously.
“All I can say is should this happen on our guard we would be entirely supportive in terms of fixing it and making sure we have a culture that is accepting of everyone,” he added in an interview with Bloomberg when questioned about the allegations. “It means we all have to look at each other in the mirror and make sure we are posing the right questions internally and acting in the way we can only be proud of, not today but in the next 10 years.”
Reports have noted that there is believed to be an internal power struggle in the background at Red Bull Racing. Horner was the youngest F1 team principal when Red Bull appointed him in 2005. He is now the longest serving principal in the paddock and has steered Red Bull racing to extraordinary success during that period. They have won six constructors’ world championships and seven drivers’ titles and have enjoyed remarkable dominance over the last two seasons, both won comfortably by Max Verstappen, with Red Bull claiming 21 wins from 22 races in 2023. Horner was instrumental in bringing both designer Adrian Newey to Red Bull and Verstappen to F1, when he was just 17 years old.