In the unfolding story involving an internal power struggle at Red Bull Racing, Christian Horner kept his job thanks to the backing of the Thai owners who own 51% of the company, while on the other hand, Helmut Marko, who was also involved in an investigation that called into question his position, kept his job with the backing of three-time World Champion Max Verstappen last year and in Saudi Arabia last weekend.
Now, according to the BBC, Horner’s accuser has lodged an official complaint about his alleged inappropriate behavior with the FIA, after it was confirmed that the woman was suspended from her duties at the team.
It’s the third complaint that has been lodged to the FIA regarding the Horner case. The first time, according to media reports, was a call to the FIA ethics and compliance hotline on February 2nd, appealing Horner’s behavior as they believed there was possibility of a Red Bull cover-up.
The second time, insisting on the issue and warning that the next step would be to involve the media, came more than a month later. A Google Drive file was released during the Bahrain Grand Prix weekend alleging to show messages from the British team principal.
In view of this, the FIA released the following statement:
“At the FIA, enquiries and complaints are received and managed by the Compliance Officer, and the Ethics Committee where appropriate. Both bodies operate autonomously, guaranteeing strict confidentiality throughout the process.
“As a consequence, and in general, we are unable to confirm the receipt of any specific complaint and it is unlikely that we will be able to provide further comment on the complaints that we may receive from any parties.”
A Red Bull spokesman commented that “it was not aware of the complaint and did not want to comment further”.
It is yet another episode in the novel that Red Bull Racing has tried to close claiming ‘confidentiality’, while Horner continues to deny any accusations against him and declares the need to “move on.”
