Investigation overshadowing start of F1 season
Testing for the upcoming Formula 1 season began this week and there was Christian Horner, the head of Red Bull Racing, still leading his team as it begins its bid for a fourth consecutive championship.
But as he continues with “business as normal” — Horner’s own words — nobody else can figure out how he has remained on the job during an internal investigation into allegations of inappropriate conduct that parent company Red Bull announced on Feb. 5.
More than two weeks later, the motorsports community is engrossed in daily rumors and speculation about what Horner has been accused of doing by a team employee. There has been silence out of Austria since the investigation was announced and a defiant Horner has stated he will be part of the team when the F1 season begins next weekend in Bahrain.
For all the courting of American fans and deals with U.S. corporations, the handling of this Horner mess is utterly bizarre. F1 and governing body FIA have both issued statements urging a quick resolution to the investigation but neither entity is looking into the situation itself.
Nothing seems to have changed at all for Horner since Red Bull said it was looking into things. Future engine supplier Ford openly asked for a resolution. Visa, which in
January was announced as title sponsor for Red Bull’s second team, and main Red Bull sponsor Oracle have both declined comment.
In the meantime, details have trickled out. Because much of it has come from Dutch media reports, both three-time reigning world champion Max Verstappen and his father, Jos, have been suggested as leakers.
What was initially described internally as an investigation into Horner’s “aggressive management style” has now shifted to reports of sexual misconduct. There were allegedly nearly 100 pieces of evidence introduced during a deposition of Horner, who allegedly offered his accuser a six-figure settlement.
F1 desperately wants the gossip to stop, especially since the season starts next week and “Drive to Survive” will release its latest installment Friday on Netflix. Horner is in all the trailers.
What’s very true is that the knives are out for Horner throughout F1, and his fate is far more complicated than whatever is determined in Red Bull’s investigation.
It’s an ugly distraction that nobody wants ahead of the season opener, with some teams now wondering how the daily drama of the Horner situation may hurt them in the pursuit of American sponsors.
For now, the Horner investigation — not Lewis Hamilton’s stunning decision to move to Ferrari in 2025 or the rejection of Michael Andretti by F1 to join the series or Haas’ offseason firing of team principal and “DTS” star Guenther Steiner — is the only topic of discussion with a season looming.