Red Bull Racing has suspended the employee who instigated the internal investigation against team boss Christian Horner.
According to a source with knowledge of the situation who spoke with The Associated Press on Thursday, the Red Bull Racing Formula 1 employee whose complaint spurred an investigation into alleged misconduct by team principal Christian Horner has been suspended.
The individual sought to remain anonymous as Red Bull has not disclosed any information regarding the investigation and did not respond to a request for comment.
Red Bull GmbH which is the F1 team’s parent company, “dismissed” the investigation into the team the boss last week following a weeks-long process.
A statement from Red Bull at the time said: “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.”
However, one day later during practice for the Bahrain Grand Prix a file purportedly containing evidence against Horner was emailed to over 200 individuals in the Formula 1 paddock, including Liberty Media, F1, the FIA, the other nine team principals, and a number of media outlets.
It appears that the information leaked from a generic email address, and the AP has not confirmed its authenticity. Despite the drama, Horner was at the helm of the team throughout the 2024 car launch and for the season opener in Bahrain, in which the team claimed a dominant 1-2 finish.
As Horner’s job gets more secure by the day, Red Bull Racing has now suspended the employee who triggered the process by contacting the team’s parent company with complaints about the boss.
The complainant was entitled to lodge an appeal, but allegations that the five-day window for doing so had already passed were untrue.
Until legal letters were issued, neither party could take any further action. This happened at the beginning of this week, which explains why the suspension came into effect at this time. It also indicates that the complainant still has time to file an appeal.
Red Bull declined to provide any further details, stating that they needed to safeguard the privacy of the individuals who helped with the investigation. Since then, Horner hasn’t talked about the process or its outcome very much.
According to a Red Bull Racing representative, the team declined to provide any further details on Thursday saying: “We do not comment on internal employee matters.”
Since the allegations were originally made public more than a month ago, a lot of rumours have been circulated due to the Red Bull parent company’s lack of transparency during the entire process.
Both the FIA and F1 have had discussions with Horner individually to intervene in the situation; they are keeping a close eye on the matter since they fear it might affect the championship, but neither has taken any concrete action.
Horner hasn’t discussed the issue publicly up to this point, but the public criticism has fueled rumors of a plot to take him down for unclear reasons.
Red Bull majority owner Chalerm Yoovidhya made it apparent that he supported Horner in Bahrain. Before the race, the two were seen together in the parc ferme, celebrating Verstappen’s victory.
Red Bull’s managing director Oliver Mintzlaff is anticipated to attend the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix this weekend. Given rumors that the Austrian side of the firm has expressed dissatisfaction about the situation, it would be fascinating to see if he chooses to address the situation.
