Christian Horner will stay on as team principal of Red Bull Racing. The news has dropped one day before the 2024 F1 season begins with practice at the Bahrain GP.
The 50-year-old has been team principal at the Milton Keynes-based squad since Red Bull took over ahead of the 2005 season after Jaguar decided to exit the sport at the end of the previous campaign.
Over the last 19 years, Red Bull has won seven Drivers’ Championships (Sebastian Vettel x4 and Max Verstappen x3), six Constructors’ Championships, 113 Grands Prix and secured 95 pole positions.
In early February, De Telegraaf broke the news that Christian Horner was under investigation for alleged inappropriate behaviour towards a female employee. It was started by the Austrian side of Red Bull GmbH. According to several reports over the last few weeks, the Austrian side that owns 49% wants Horner out, while 51% co-owner, Thai businessman Chalerm Yoovidhya, is determined the Brit stays.
The Dutch publication followed it up on February 16th as they wrote that Horner was accused of alleged sexual misconduct and his lawyers had offered 650,000 thousand pounds as a settlement. That was rejected, however.
Ford, who will be patterning Red Bull Racing come 2026 when the new regulations start, had been looking for more info on the situation as they wrote in a letter, seen by AP a few days ago:
“As we have indicated previously, without satisfactory response, Ford’s values are non-negotiable. It is imperative that our racing partners share and demonstrate a genuine commitment to those same values. My team and I are available at any time to discuss this matter. We remain insistent on, and hopeful, for a resolution we can all stand behind,” said CEO Jim Farley.
According to that AP article, there was almost 100 pieces of evidence submitted against Horner.
On Monday, the investigation was completed by the external lawyer that was brought in.
Today, an official statment was made by Red Bull GmbH and Horner was cleared of all accusations.
Red Bull statement
“The independent investigation into the allegations made against Mr Horner is complete, and Red Bull can confirm that the grievance has been dismissed. The complainant has a right of appeal. Red Bull is confident that the investigation has been fair, rigorous and impartial. 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.”
