Red Bull F1 team principal Christian Horner will face an internal hearing on Friday over allegations he denies.
The energy drinks company, which owns the Formula 1 outfit, launched a formal investigation after receiving unspecified allegations from a female employee, and has enlisted independent professionals.
In a statement on Monday, the Austrian firm said: “Following certain recent allegations, the company has initiated an independent investigation. This work is already underway and is being conducted by an external specialist lawyer. The company takes these matters very seriously and will conclude the investigation as quickly as possible. It would not be appropriate to comment further at this time.”
Horner is due to speak with the external legal representative engaged by the Red Bull company on Friday. However, he continues to fulfill his role as team principal and attended Monday’s F1 Commission meeting in London. He told Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf: “I categorically deny these allegations.”
Red Bull Racing has yet to respond publicly. The team is in the midst of its preparations for the 2024 season, with the launch of the RB20 car scheduled for February 15, followed by pre-season testing in Bahrain from February 21-23.
Last year’s RB19 car won 21 of the 22 races, leading rivals to suspect that Red Bull did not fully develop its title-winning machine in order to focus on the upcoming RB20, which Chief Technical Officer Adrian Newey described as a “third evolution” of the 2022 rules-conforming RB18.
The 50-year-old Briton has been Red Bull’s team boss since 2005 and has not missed a grand prix in 19 years, making him the longest-serving current team principal in the paddock. Under his leadership, Red Bull has claimed 13 world championships. At the end of last year, he was named on UK King Charles III’s New Year Honours list and will receive a CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) later in 2023. His wife is Geri Halliwell, a former member of the British girl group Spice Girls.
Williams team principal Jost Capito recently commented on the situation involving Horner, highlighting how the environment in F1 has changed and emphasizing the importance of ensuring one’s conduct remains something to be proud of in the long term.
“I think it means we all have to look in the mirror and make sure we ask the right questions internally and behave in a way we can be proud of, not today but for the next 10 years,” he said.
“The sport itself… if you look back 20 years, it was undoubtedly male-dominated – if I asked you what a team looked like, it was probably white, probably male, probably 40-something… that sort of thing. That’s changing, and only good things come out of that change.”
Capito, who has worked in F1 for over two decades, joined Williams as team principal after leaving Mercedes last year.
“All I can control is what happens within Williams, and all I can do in that environment is to make sure everyone opens their eyes and sees that’s what we have to be, because the best ideas don’t come from a closed group. They come from diversity,” he added.
“These are allegations, and unfortunately, I don’t know what’s behind them or the significance of what’s happened. All I can say is that if something like this were to happen here, we would support it being resolved fully and ensure we have a culture that embraces everybody.”
In 2019, Mercedes dismissed four employees and disciplined three others following racist abuse directed at a colleague.
