Christian Horner has threatened to take legal action against a Formula 1 magazine following the publication of fresh allegations against the Red Bull boss along with the revelation of his accuser.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has threatened to take legal action against a Formula 1 magazine after it revealed the identity of the female colleague with whom he is alleged to have shared explicit messages.
According to a report from The Telegraph, the magazine’s website crashed on Monday due to high traffic following the publication of an article about the case.
The BusinessF1 Magazine is set to publish a 19-page investigation into the controversy that will include fresh allegations as well as name the individual who accused the Red Bull Boss. The article has been dismissed by Horner’s team as “full of inaccuracies.”
A pair of letters allegedly sent by Horner’s legal representatives Harbottle & Lewis to the magazine accuse it of “publishing an unlawful article that was defamatory but also preached privacy and data protection rights.”
The report will be officially released later this week, although it was leaked online over the weekend as its author, Tom Rubython, describes himself as “probably the most sued journalist in Britain.”
“[Red Bull] are so busy chasing mainstream media, they forgot our magazine is coming out,” Rubython said. “Our magazine is usually about business, sponsorship and engines — a good old scandal is very rare.
“If I’d put the claims to Christian I’d have had an immediate injunction or attempted injunction. [Horner’s lawyers] are going to have a problem if they go for us. Whether they will or not, I do have a certain reputation of not caving.”
Horner has vehemently denied the allegations of inappropriate conduct against him. Red Bull cleared him last week after conducting an internal investigation into his behaviour towards a female coworker.
But over the course of the week, leaked private text messages and images between Horner and the female employee were revealed to journalists and Formula One officials, redirecting scrutiny to the Red Bull team principal.
That only became worse after the article in question was published in the magazine, which Horner’s lawyers reportedly demanded be taken down. A Red Bull spokesman told the Telegraph that “the piece is littered with inaccuracies and is subject to legal complaint”.
This comes after claims made by Jos Verstappen, the father of three-time reigning Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen, that Horner’s continued stay in his role would result in Red Bull team “getting torn apart.”
“The team is in danger of being torn apart. It can’t go on the way it is. It will explode,” said Verstappen. “He is playing the victim, when he is the one causing the problems.”
However, Horner is not the only well-known figure in the sport who is in hot water, as the controversy sorrounding him is expected to escalate once F1 arrives in Saudi Arabia this week for the second grand prix of the year.
FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem is currently being investigated for allegedly attempting to tamper with the results of the Jeddah race last year.
