Christian Horner: Red Bull chief cleared of inappropriate behaviour
Red Bull have cleared Christian Horner of wrongdoing following allegations of inappropriate behaviour made by a female colleague after saying that their investigation was “fair, rigorous and impartial”.
Horner, 50, touched down in Bahrain before the first Formula One grand prix of the season on Saturday at almost the exact moment the statement dropped from Red Bull GmBH, the Austrian parent company of Red Bull Racing F1, at 3.30pm UK time.
The Red Bull team principal will be in the paddock for free practice on Thursday. It is rumoured that his wife, former Spice Girl Geri Horner (nee Halliwell), may join him at the race, in a public show of support.
It is unclear whether the verdict draws a line under the matter. In its statement, Salzburg-based Red Bull GmBH, which appointed an external specialist barrister to look into the allegations, noted that the claimant had a right of appeal. But it added that as far as it was concerned the matter was now over.
And it said it would not be sharing details of the report publicly - a hot topic of debate - as it was “confidential and contained the private information of the parties and third parties who assisted in the investigation”.
The statement read: “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. Red Bull will continue striving to meet the highest workplace standards.”
It remains to be seen whether the claimant takes up her option of appeal. Tania Goodman, a partner and the head of employment at the law firm Collyer Bristow, told Telegraph Sport it would be usual to lodge an appeal within five working days.
The claimant could also go to an employment tribunal. There had been reports in recent days that she might consider legal action if her grievance was dismissed. According to Goodman, this would not need to be done for several months.
It is also unclear whether this will be the end of the matter from the point of view of Red Bull’s key sponsors such as Oracle, Ford, Visa and TAG-Heuer. In a letter sent to Red Bull last week, leaked to the Associated Press, Ford chief executive Jim Farley wrote that he was frustrated “by the lack of full transparency surrounding this matter with us, your corporate partners” adding that his company’s values were “non-negotiable” and calling for a “resolution we can all stand behind”.
It is unclear whether Red Bull GmBH shared details of the report with the team’s partners, although it is understood it did give them advanced warning of its decision.
The issue of transparency, and whether Red Bull ought to publish details about the case, had been much discussed in the build-up to the verdict being announced.
There is no legal requirement on a private company to release details of an internal investigation, but Goodman said the appointment of an external KC to investigate the matter indicated that the company had taken the allegations extremely seriously.
She added that any appeal would have to be heard by someone of equivalent legal standing, or even more senior.
Hamilton: ‘Important moment for the sport’
Toto Wolff of Mercedes and Zak Brown of McLaren had both called for transparency at last week’s pre-season test.
Red Bull’s triple world champion Max Verstappen had accused them of using the case to try to create pressure, describing that as standard practice in F1.
Both Wolff and Brown have been selected for the main FIA press conference in Bahrain on Thursday, while Horner has not.
Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton, meanwhile, speaking in Wednesday’s drivers’ press conference, had raised the stakes still further.
“We always have to do more to try to make the sport and the environment for people to work in feel safe and inclusive,” the seven-time world champion said.” Any allegations have to be taken very seriously.
“It will be interesting to see how it is dealt with, and the effect that it may or may not have on the sport moving forward.
“It is a really important moment for the sport to make sure that we stand true to our values.”
Verstappen, also speaking before the verdict was announced, said that he “trusted the process”.
Former world champion Damon Hill did not seem so sure. “There will be people who say that it’s the organisation judging itself and not being exposed to any other external influences,” he said on Sky Sports F1.
But colleague and fellow ex-racer Naomi Schiff said she hoped this drew a line under it. “I believe they’ve done everything they can,” she said. “What they say in the statement is super important, they say in the statement there is a level of discretion that needs to be kept because it involves the private lives of people that doesn’t need to be exposed to the world. We just hope this is clear and it’s not going to go any further unless it has to because you don’t want this looming over the sport and the credibility of the people.”
Horner cleared after investigation into behaviour – as it happened
04:18 PM GMT
Horner cleared of allegations
If you are just joining our coverage, Red Bull Austria have confirmed that Christian Horner has been cleared following an internal investigation into allegations of inappriopate behaviour made against the 50-year-old.
“Red Bull is confident that the investigation has been fair, rigorous and impartial,” a spokesperson for the company said.
The Red Bull team principal is due to land in Bahrain on Wednesday evening and will be in the paddock on Thursday ahead of the opening race of the season on Saturday.
We will have further reaction to the news on Telegraph Sport in the coming hours. Thanks for reading.
04:07 PM GMT
Martin Brundle: Investigation has been a distraction for F1
I think it’s been a distraction for all of Formula 1. We’re in the inner sanctum here and many of these people we have known for years and decades.
I think it has impacted on all of F1 and certainly is a distraction for the team.
The statement from Red Bull GmbH is drawing a solid line underneath the whole thing. That appears to be their position.
03:59 PM GMT
Telegraph Sport columnist Damon Hill
Speaking on Sky Sports:
There will be people who say that it’s the organisation judging itself and not being exposed to any other external influences.
They had to investigate an allegation and they’ve satisfied themselves that their man is in tact and that they’re going to carry on.
03:30 PM GMT
Horner cleared of inappropriate behaviour
Red Bull Austria have issued a 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. Red Bull will continue striving to meet the highest workplace standards.
03:10 PM GMT
Red Bull chief set to be cleared of wrongdoing
An internal investigation was looking into the allegations that Horner acted inappropriately towards a female colleague.
There may be recourse to appeal any decision, but that has yet to be confirmed.
An official announcement is expected from Red Bull today – with Horner set to be in the paddock on Thursday ahead of the opening race of the season on Saturday.
02:57 PM GMT
Sky Sports F1 pundit Karun Chandok on investigation
It must be difficult internally for that entire team, the story that the entire paddock is talking about.
It is absolutely a big talking point. It’s an internal investigation, it’s not in the courts. The details may just stay internal.
It’s easy to get caught up in the noise, there’s so many theories. Just wait and see what’s announced by Red Bull, we’ve just got to wait and see what plays out.
02:42 PM GMT
‘There will be a lot of questions whichever way it goes’
Of course, whichever way it goes, that may not be the end of it. If the grievance is upheld, might Horner appeal? If it is dismissed, might the claimant appeal? What recourse do they have to appeal? Would the claimant stay on at Red Bull Racing if her claims were dismissed? There have been whispers she might be prepared to go legal.
How would Red Bull Racing’s senior engineers take it if Horner was fired? How will Red Bull’s sponsors react? Will the likes of Oracle, Ford and TAG-Heuer be satisfied with the outcome? There will be a lot of questions whichever way it goes.
02:29 PM GMT
Hamilton: Horner investigation ‘a really important moment for F1’
Lewis Hamilton has called the imminent verdict on Christian Horner’s future an “important moment for the sport to make sure that we stand true to our values”.
We always have to do more to try to make the sport and the environment for people to work in feel safe and inclusive. Any allegations have to be taken very seriously. We don’t know everything that has gone on but it needs to be resolved because it is hanging over the sport.
It will be interesting to see how it is dealt with, and the effect that it may or may not have on the sport moving forward. It is a really important moment for the sport to make sure that we stand true to our values.
02:10 PM GMT
Daniel Ricciardo: Do I feel for him through all of this? Yes
Coming into the test, obviously we were aware of everything going on.
But would I say was it an on-track distraction? No, it wasn’t. Knowing we have so little time as well, it was really ‘I need to focus on me, my team, my driving’ and trying to start this week as strongly as possible.
Do I feel for him through all of this? Yes, I’ve known Christian for a long time. He’s always been great with me. So I do hope that there is a fair outcome and resolution soon, hopefully before this weekend, so it’s not really a distraction for him or obviously anyone in the team.
But honestly, for us, we’ve had to really just focus on ourselves and trying to get on with the task.
01:51 PM GMT
Martin Brundle on ‘disruption’ at Red Bull
I think the problem Red Bull have is that Dietrich Mateschitz was the final arbiter of any key decision and they followed him.
He said jump, they said how high. So I think you’re already seeing some of this - chaos is too strong a word - but disruption, let’s call it, from that point on in 2022. Obviously, if you take Christian out of that loop, then a vacuum is always filled with other things, isn’t it?
And whether that would have the same effect [as Mateschitz’s death], but they’ve got momentum and they’ve got [Max] Verstappen. So I wouldn’t be too worried about their immediate performance, but down the road, you’d have to say that that would create some challenges.
01:30 PM GMT
‘It would be a surprise if Red Bull published much beyond its verdict’
It’s going to be interesting to see what Red Bull says, if and when it does deliver its verdict later. There has been much discussion about ‘transparency’ during this process. Red Bull’s rivals, including Toto Wolff and Zak Brown, have demanded it, describing the allegations as “serious” and saying the case impacts the sport as a whole.
It would be a surprise, though, if Red Bull published much beyond its verdict. Its view is likely to be that this is an internal company investigation, it is not a public inquiry, and it is under no obligation to share any details. It hired an external specialist barrister to look into the claims and compile a report and it is making a decision based on that report.
It may be harder to justify not sharing details with partners eg Ford/Oracle who have invested millions of dollars into the team. It remains to be seen what Red Bull is prepared to share with them.
01:13 PM GMT
From the archive: ‘Geri is a force of nature’
Published in March of last year, here’s a fascinating interview with Christian Horner, where the Red Bull chief discusses his love for Geri Horner (née Halliwell), his love of horse racing and, of course, some stuff on fast cars.
12:58 PM GMT
More from Max . . . but mainly chatting cars
"I think it's better in general not to think about it" 😅
Max Verstappen's reaction after being asked who can challenge Red Bull this season 🎙 pic.twitter.com/ylZ2cftAaU— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) February 28, 2024
12:43 PM GMT
Verstappen discusses Horner (sort of)
Speaking a few minutes ago, Max Verstappen, the three-time world champion, responded to a single question about Christian Horner. When asked how “a lot of rumours” surrounding Horner effected him, the Belgian-born Dutchman straight-batted it like a veteran. “It doesn’t,” he said. “I’m very focused on the performance of the car and myself. Hopefully it’ll be resolved very soon. It’s a whole team effort, everyone has to stick together. We work towards more success and that’s why it’s important to get everything resolved very soon.”
On the car-related stuff, Verstappen was a little more expansive: “We had a good test, lots of laps, he said. “We did the whole programme, I felt comfortable with the car. It is all very promising but you never know in the weekend, excited to get started and see where we’re at.”
12:28 PM GMT
At home with the Horners: An awkward watch
For those who have been living under a rock, the latest episode of Netflix’s Formula 1: Drive to Survive was released into the wild last week, and as colleague Tom Cary wrote in his review it was, in places, an ‘awkward’ watch.
Talking of red overalls, there is an excruciating scene in Episode 2: Fall From Grace in which Father Christmas makes a visit to the Horner residence and asks the children: “Has Dad been good this year?” In the context of what is currently taking place, it is awkward in the extreme.
Horner is on safer ground when twisting the knife, pantomime-style, into Red Bull’s rivals. Episode 3: Under Pressure deals with McLaren’s poor start to the 2023 season and subsequent resurgence. As Zak Brown is quizzed on Lando Norris’ potential exit, Horner openly courts his man. “In the right car he’d clearly be a winning driver, that’s absolutely no doubt about that,” Horner says. “We’d certainly be interested in him. I think he’d fit in our environment.” Whatever you think about Horner, he is one of the biggest personalities on the grid, and will be hugely missed if he does not survive the ongoing inquest.
12:15 PM GMT
Wolff: ‘We are role models’
While any hard news is rather thin on the ground right now while we wait for Red Bull to break its silence following the allegations against Christian Horner, others have been a little more forthright in their assessments of the situation. Speaking last week, Toto Wolff, the Mercedes team principal, said senior figures like himself and Horner within the sport are “role models”, while he added the continuing controversy – that should reach a conclusion later today – remains “an issue for all Formula One”.
Wolff did, however, add that there had been “a lot of speculation over the last weeks” and that it was important to respect the integrity of an independent process.
12:06 PM GMT
View from the ground in Bahrain . . .
Christian Horner does not know the verdict of an investigation into his conduct as team principal of Red Bull Racing ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/GrPXVmSUIK
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) February 28, 2024
12:01 PM GMT
‘The showman Red Bull chief who married a Spice Girl’
While we are are waiting for some developments in this story – and for those less familiar with the main protagonist in this tale – here are some words from colleague Tom Morgan who wrote this recent profile of a man he described as ‘the showman Red Bull chief’.
Oozing with self-confidence, Horner was just 31 years old when he took over as principal for the team’s first start on an F1 grid in 2005. Since then, he has gone on to win seven drivers’ championships and six constructors’ championships. However, it is the fly-on-the-wall era of sports documentary-making and his marriage to a former Spice Girl that has secured Horner as a household name as instantly recognisable as even his top driver Max Verstappen.
Horner’s fierce rivalry with Mercedes’ Toto Wolff was laid bare in Netflix’s Drive to Survive series, with cameras following their every move, to give them an unlikely profile that now transcends F1.
Exchanges between the pair were box-office viewing in 2021 when Verstappen snatched championship victory from Lewis Hamilton in Abu Dhabi. For years since, Horner has revelled in his role as villain for Hamilton fans. “Mercedes f----- up,” he said on Sky’s League Of Their Own in December. “They left poor Lewis out there on tyres that had done pretty much most of the race and we’d pitted with Max, so he was on a fresh set of tyres.”
11:52 AM GMT
How did we reach this point?
11:48 AM GMT
D-Day for Horner
Christian Horner, the Red Bull team principal, is on his way to Bahrain with a decision expected later today over allegations by a female employee about his conduct.
Horner, who is due to land in Bahrain, could arrive to find he is out of a job or he could be cleared to continue before Saturday’s season-opening Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix.
An announcement from Red Bull’s Salzburg-based Austrian parent company is expected before the race at Sakhir.
The fact that Horner is flying to the Kingdom is not necessarily a sign that he has been cleared. Nor is the fact that he is arriving in Bahrain after Wednesday’s media activities have taken place a sign that he is avoiding paddock commitments.
Team principals are not generally put up for media on the first day of a race weekend, and Horner often arrives at flyaways on the day of opening practice.
An investigation into the sport’s longest serving principal, and husband of former Spice Girls singer Geri Halliwell, has been ongoing since January although details only emerged publicly on February 5.
Horner declined to comment last week when asked about the investigation into his alleged inappropriate behaviour. But rival team principals have continued to pile on the pressure. McLaren’s Zak Brown followed the lead of Mercedes’ Toto Wolff, describing the allegations as “extremely serious” and calling for “transparency” in the handling of the investigation.
Brown added that there needed to be a swift resolution, saying: “These aren’t the headlines F1 needs.”
The investigation has cast a cloud over the team’s preparations for the new season.
Horner has said he hoped for a resolution “as soon as possible” while world champion Max Verstappen said his rivals were using the controversy as a means to destabilise Red Bull.
Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has defended the length of time it is taking to conclude the company’s investigation.
Horner said he was “confident” he would clear his name when the allegations first came to light and said: “I absolutely deny any of the allegations that have been made.”
He faced an eight-hour grilling from a barrister as part of the investigation, which centres around alleged ‘controlling’ behaviour on the part of Horner, 50.
Horner and his team celebrated the most dominant season in Formula One history last year, with Red Bull winning 21 of 22 races, and will start the new season with Dutch driver Verstappen chasing a fourth successive title.
