Christian Horner, Oracle Red Bull Racing’s under-fire team principal, has urged the sport to move on from the scandal that has engulfed the opening of the 2024 Formula 1 season.
Horner, 50, believes the decision of an independent barrister — who had been appointed to investigate a complaint from a female Red Bull employee of his alleged controlling and coercive behaviour — to clear him on Wednesday means the matter should be considered over.
That has proved difficult after an explosive email arrived a little over 24 hours after that statement, containing private messages purporting to be between Horner and the female staff member who made the complaint. It was sent to 149 people, including senior F1 executives and members of the media, including The Times.
“100 per cent [I will stand resolute],” Horner said. “There was a full, lengthy internal process that was — completed by an independent KC and the grievance that was raised was dismissed. End of. Move on.”
Horner’s Spice Girls wife, Geri Halliwell, arrived at the Bahrain International Circuit hand-in-hand with her husband at 4.20pm and was greeted by an army of eager photographers. The pair went up the steps to Red Bull’s hospitality area and held a conversation in the section which is open to other teams and media personnel.
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Horner praised the support of his family, and wife, after his driver, Max Verstappen, eased to victory in the opening race of the season.
• Max Verstappen strolls to victory at Bahrain Grand Prix
“Obviously, it’s not been pleasant… the unwanted attention, but the focus is now very much on the cars,” Horner said. “My focus has very much been on what’s going on on the track — the result demonstrates where the whole team’s focus is and we move onwards.
“I’m not going to comment on what motives whatever person may have for doing this. My focus is on this team, my family, my wife and going racing. I have the support of an incredible family, of an incredible wife, of an incredible team and everybody within that team, and my focus is on winning races and doing the best that I can.”
He was also embraced on the grid by Chalerm Yoovidhya, the eldest brother in the Thai dynasty which owns 51 per cent of Red Bull GmbH.
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Horner confirmed he would be at the next race in Saudi Arabia in a week’s time. There were fears that there would be further email drops, but they have not materialised.
He refused to comment on the messages released in the leak, saying they were from an “unknown source”. On Friday, Horner attended crisis talks with the two most powerful figures in the sport: Formula 1 chief executive Stefano Domenicali and the FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem. It is understood that they went well.
The Red Bull chief was likely to have been reminded of the damage the scandal was doing to the sport.
“It’s damaging the sport … This is damaging on a human level,” Ben Sulayem told the Financial Times after speaking with Horner. “It is the beginning of the season. F1 is becoming so popular. We just need to enjoy the beginning of the season. Look at the competition. Why do we overshadow it with negativity?”
There was also some sympathy expressed for Horner’s personal situation, given the sexual nature of some of the messages allegedly exchanged between him and the woman. However, F1 and the FIA, motor sport’s world governing body, sought assurances that the situation was being handled appropriately, amid concern about the nature of the leaks.
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Thursday’s devastating email, which included a Google Drive link, claimed to contain private correspondence that formed part of the complaint. The Times is not publishing the details of the messages. While Horner has not claimed that the images containing hundreds of messages and other content are fake, sources have pointed to issues with some of the correspondence. Certain WhatsApp messages begin with a lower case letter, when WhatsApp posts automatically start with a capital. The Times has seen past WhatsApp messages from Horner and they too start with a capital letter.
It is believed the FIA and F1, which is owned by Liberty Media Group, expected more transparency from Red Bull after the conclusion of the investigation. The Times understands they are consulting their legal teams on how to proceed. The FIA could request Red Bull provide a copy of the investigation, or begin one of its own.
Those who participate in Formula 1 must abide by the International Sporting Code. Article 12.2.1f of the code states that a competitor will be deemed to have committed an offence for: “Any words, deeds or writings that have caused moral injury or loss to the FIA, its bodies, its members or its executive officers, and more generally on the interest of motorsport and on the values defended by the FIA.”
A statement issued by Red Bull’s parent company on Thursday had suggested the contents of the email amounted to a personal issue for Horner to resolve. “This is a private matter between Mr Horner and another and it would be inappropriate for Red Bull to comment on this,” the statement read.
