Christian Horner has been cleared of inappropriate behaviour towards a female colleague following an investigation by Red Bull's parent company.

"The independent investigation into the allegations made against Mr Horner is complete," said a spokesperson this afternoon, "and Red Bull can confirm that the grievance has been dismissed.

"The complainant has a right of appeal," the spokesperson added.

"The investigation report is confidential and contains the private information of the parties and third parties who assisted in the investigation, and therefore we will not be commenting further out of respect for all concerned.

"Red Bull will continue striving to meet the highest workplace standards. Red Bull is confident that the investigation has been fair, rigorous and impartial."

Whether this is enough to quell the mob or indeed members of the team, media and many others within the paddock, remains to be seen.

Also muddying the waters is the fact that we do not know - and probably never will know - what exactly the allegations refer to, though this hasn't stopped the speculation in the media or on social media.

As a result, like all investigations of this type, we are left none the wiser and a certain amount of mud is going to stick.

Fact is, if there was any genuine intention of firing Horner it is unlikely he would have had such a high profile at the launch or pre-season testing, and he certainly wouldn't have been present in Bahrain today if there was a chance of him having to effectively 'clear his desk' and head for home.

Nobody comes out of this well... but at least it provides the perfect opener for season 7 of Drive to Survive.

More to follow.

LATEST NEWS

more news >

LATEST IMAGES

galleries >

Click to go to the main galleries section

READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by RP, 03/03/2024 14:52

"In the U.S., there have been clear examples of powerful executives or superiors taking advantage of their positions and, when proven, they have been shown the door as they should have been. I assumed that an "independent" examiner who delivered a 600 page report would certainly have looked at Christian Horner's files and made a detailed analysis without releasing personal files to Red Bull IF they didn't include any real evidence of wrong doing.
The release of supposed copies of relevant supporting whatsapp and other files, if proven to be accurate, certainly changes things. IF accurate, the key here, will certainly change opinions despite all the conspiracy theories being thrown around prior to this. How they were obtained/released may be wrong but if they expose something else that's quite meainingful. I know how thick 600 pages are. I'm not certain that the volume stamps an imprimatur on its veracity.
Time will tell."

Rating: Neutral (0) Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

2. Posted by kenji, 01/03/2024 2:42

"@ Ricardo-sanchez. Exactly so. This latest activity goes far deeper than a simple bit of argy bargy between team members.
@ Stitch 431...Thanks for the response. The latest call out now indicates a strategy that has gone off the rails. The complainants clearly thought that they had CH/RB boxed and when found, independently, innocent of the charges levelled, have decided to elevate the issue further. An independent English KC'c opinion does carry weight and by dumping alleged evidence into the semi public arena a new allegation is introduced. Wow...what a start to the season.Next question is, does 'harassment' appear on the statutes as a qualified criminal offence?"

Rating: Neutral (0) Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

3. Posted by Ricardo_sanchez, 01/03/2024 1:46

"@laz - the documents are screenshots of Whatsapp chats, not emails. If they are genuine they must have been leaked by someone close to the investigation or with some connection to the case. I’m not sure there’s been any hacking involved. Clearly, someone is out to damage Horner. "

Rating: Neutral (0) Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

4. Posted by Laz, 29/02/2024 21:04

"Well well well, according to this mornings news someone has hacked / stolen internal & private emails from Christian Horner and sent them to journalists around the world , now who could possibly have a motivation to do that ?? Also certain Team Principals are ramping up their demand "for justice" to be done -which reading between the lines " is - Christian is actually guilty of the heinous crimes and should be burned at the stake". He at leasts knows who his true "friends" are now. They all band together to get rid of competition if it means they lose money (Andretti) but if we can get rid of the team Principal of the most successful recent team (upset the competition) then let's throw him to the wolves. I am in no way a Christian (or Toto , or Zac) fan , they are all too full of their own self importance, so let the Legal system sort it out. For me F1 is first and foremost about the racing, then the Drivers,and finally the Team (not the Team Principals)."

Rating: Positive (1) Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

5. Posted by Stitch431, 29/02/2024 8:00

"Ps. ... It was late last night ... "Brackley" must be "Milton Keynes" of course :-)"

Rating: Neutral (0) Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

6. Posted by Stitch431, 29/02/2024 7:21

"@meatball that would be a huge distraction for the obviously huge amount of work for the upcoming season, and both Red Bull, and CH do not have to go in there for the money. If it were me, I would surely think twice before going in that direction. Law suits are always extremely energy draining.
@Kenji Here in Austria there is exactly the same possibility to go to the public legal system to bring charges, and it is definitely not taken lightly.
However, I am not sure if the employee is working in Austria or in Brackley. If the latter is the case, it will be UK jurisdiction. We will have to see if he/she is confident enough that his/her case is strong enough, because if proven wrong it might bring huge consequences upon him/herself, but I guess we will find out the answer to that relatively soon. "

Rating: Neutral (0) Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

7. Posted by kenji, 29/02/2024 1:12

"@ Stitch 431.... Very good post. As an Austrian resident you may be able to throw some light on a couple of points. Seeing as this was a private investigation by RB [ Austria ] presumably they paid for it. Can an appeal be lodged with the team? In a public criminal trial appeals can be lodged and acted upon but does this apply to a private investigation? I guess this is all dependent upon jurisdiction. If the jurisdiction is deemed to be the UK then that is a different story! I do feel that Horner must take return action as there will be other interests still trying to 'stir the possum' as they say Down Under. "

Rating: Positive (1) Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

8. Posted by kenji, 29/02/2024 1:00

"@KKK very well stated.

@ Meatball...I fully agree. It's such a pity that we will not see all the evidence as the we could at least make up our own minds. I like Christian Horner insofar as he's done an amazing job over the years and has carved out a place in the very top echelons of F1. He has achieved great results for the Red Bull empire. In order to get some semblance of closure we need to watch closely any obvious movements within the RB camp. That,and the question of motive!!! The other point is just who is financing all of this. Any appeal would surely need the complainants to fund it. Hopefully Horner has the ability to take this further...one way or another. Months of mental anguish in public and the private pressures on his family need to be assuaged....IMO. A dose of healthy vengeance to clear the air."

Rating: Positive (1) Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

9. Posted by meatball, 28/02/2024 23:46

"Presumed guilty in the court of public opinion, even when found innocent. Look at the potential damage to corporate reputation - Redbull, Mobil, Oracle, Ford, Honda - not one single sponsor would stand for anything less than a complete investigation. Horner barely figures into this. he would be absolutely expendable if there was truth to the allegations. There really ought to be a civil suit brought against the other party for defamation and attempted extortion."

Rating: Positive (3) Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

10. Posted by ClarkwasGod, 28/02/2024 19:44

"@Stitch

I know (de telegraaf) - that's why I made the comment"

Rating: Positive (3) Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

11. Posted by Stitch431, 28/02/2024 19:12

"It seems to me that the complaints are not the kind everybody has been "thinking" out loud. If that were the case Red Bull would have released him out of his job. Simply because so many people have been speculating about what has been going on, this obviously has been blown out of proportion. I think it is good that they conducted a thorough, independent investigation, and living in Austria I know that, if it were anything that would only point in any form of guilt, the decision would have been a different one. Instead of keeping on hitting on Horner, one could/should? ask, who would have orchestrated this? Was this perhaps revenge? Or did it come from a certain person or group of people who cannot stand the current successes Red Bull? Is every accusation of this kind automatically treu? or can it be that it has been false? If I read everything on social media and F1 forums, the Lynch mob has already condemned Christian Horner, without knowing the facts. It is something we have seen happening more and more in the last decade. It is the downside of #metoo If you want to get rid of someone accuse them of improper behavior in order to get rid of them. Anyone accused will be judged upon without a proper investigation to see if it is true or false. Of course there are bad actors. But let's face it, they are present in both men and women, as well as black and white. The same goes for the good ones. Inclusion means also giving someone a fair process. And, as we can see here, the person who has accused Christian Horner has the right to appeal the decision. Therefore, in my opinion, we cannot go about and "assume" what kind of accusation it was, and also not if it is true or false. And, @ClarkwasGod The Telegraaf in the Netherlands is a nasty tabloid that has no scruples whatsoever to sacrifice anyone in turn for a couple more clicks on their website. Not a trustworthy source of information."

Rating: Positive (7) Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

12. Posted by Wokingchap, 28/02/2024 18:21

"Swept under the carpet then...."

Rating: Negative (-4) Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

13. Posted by KKK, 28/02/2024 17:22

"Without knowing all the facts , I truly hope the complainant does not bear a grudge and lets this episode cease to exist. "

Rating: Positive (4) Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

14. Posted by ClarkwasGod, 28/02/2024 16:41

"I wonder how de telegraaf will report this?"

Rating: Positive (6) Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

Horner cleared to continue as Red Bull team principal

LATEST NEWS

RELATED ARTICLES

LATEST IMAGES

POST A COMMENT

Post your comment

READERS COMMENTS

Share this page