The female member of staff at Red Bull who accused team boss Christian Horner of controlling and inappropriate behaviour has had her appeal denied.

The accusation set in motion a chain of events at the team which not only put the team principal's future in doubt but that of various other members of the team.

Whilst rivals sought to use the situation to their benefit, there was speculation over the future of various people within the organisation, not least three-time world champion. Indeed, at time Zak Brown described the atmosphere within the team as "toxic", claiming that numerous members were seeking to jump ship, design guru Adrian Newey left, followed shortly after by Sporting Director Jonathan Wheatley.

While an internal investigation, which was overseen by an independent King's Counsel (KC) found that the accuser's claims were unfounded, she subsequently appealed the decision, and it was that appeal that was today denied.

"Earlier this year a complaint raised against Christian Horner was investigated," said the Austrian team in a statement. "That complaint was dealt with through the company's grievance procedure by the appointment of an independent KC [king's counsel,] who dismissed the grievance.

"The complainant exercised the right to appeal, and the appeal was carried out by another independent KC," the statement continued. "All stages of the appeal process have now been concluded, with the final outcome that the appeal is not upheld. The KC's conclusions have been accepted and adopted by Red Bull. The internal process has concluded.

"The company respects the privacy of all its employees and will not be making further public statements at this time.

"Red Bull is committed to continuing to meet the highest workplace standards."

Shortly after original investigation, during what appeared to be a power struggle within the team, files relating to the investigation were emails to various people within the sport including members of the media, team personnel, F1, the FIA and the sport's owner Liberty Media.

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by kenji, 10/08/2024 7:21

"@Equator180....This saga rather lends itself to a mini TV series. What a great opportunity for some aspiring producer to put together a team of plot developers. It has all the ingredients for a thriller...greed, power, competetive glory, huge sums of money lumped in with deep seated ambition and narcissistic traits... I mean what more do you need? I do reacall some time ago when an F1 wonk forecast a power struggle would occur when Mateschitz passed on. Billions of dollars are the prize and the Thai part owners were/are worried that previously held personal attachements would evaporate with his passing! "

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2. Posted by equator180, 10/08/2024 6:47

"Kenji, wait for the movie........"

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3. Posted by Celtic Tiger, 10/08/2024 3:50

"@Kenji
I nearly forgot about Massa's lawsuit. So much drama, so little time. "

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4. Posted by kenji, 10/08/2024 1:53

"@Celtic Tiger...there are still quite a few loose ends floating around. What I would like to know is where are we with the following,
Massa ver the FIA

Wolff [ Suzie ] ver. the FIA defamation

DOJ ver Liberty...action started

Finally the RB/Complainant double KC investigation seems to be all but over but one site is now stirring the pot, suggesting that the final judgement was in question but due to a backflip at the very last minute by the second investigating KC. Whether this is simply disinformation or media scam, who knows? "

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5. Posted by Ricardo_sanchez, 10/08/2024 0:12

"@Editor - great choice of image in the header for this article. "

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6. Posted by Celtic Tiger, 09/08/2024 17:39

"Well, she tried it on and it didn't work. Its a shame that, if she chooses, she gets to walk away remaining a shadowy figure in all this. Must be a nice privilege to try and destroy a persons life and be able to emerge from the fallout faceless and dirt free.

That said, what I really want to hear about is the news that the US DOJ has officially opened a antitrust investigation into Liberty Media for their Andretti treatment. Let's hope that justice prevails and Andretti line up on the grid as an 11th team sooner than later. While that c*nt Maffei gets tossed and left in prison to perfect his toilet-wine recipe. Never to touch F1 again. "

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7. Posted by Spindoctor, 09/08/2024 16:49

"The yawndaciousness is terrific!
Whatever this was about (if anything) it's now just another footnote in a book that will probably never be opened again.
If the woman felt genuinely that Horner's behaviour was "inappropriate", it seems that two (count 'em) KCs disagree. Case closed. "

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8. Posted by Wokingchap, 09/08/2024 13:49

"Was anyone surprised at this result?
@moomoo... which arxxhole are you referring to, the accused or the accuser?"

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9. Posted by kenji, 09/08/2024 2:23

"The result is welcome. The real backstory as to who orchestrated the plot is of far greater interest. Exactly who was/were behind the allegations that had the motive and the ability to prosecute this in such a manner as to inflict maximum damage is the real story. The fact that this now appears to be done and dusted means that we'll not have the benefit of a court trial which would've shed light on the 'original players and their end game'. What I would like to see is a legal fightback by Red Bull/Christian Horner. This of course would be a risky move for many different reasons but at least we may see the 'defrocking' of some of the players!!!"

Horner accuser has appeal denied

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