Martin Brundle feels that the allegedly leaked messages and images regarding Red Bull team principal Christian Horner are actually ‘the beginning, rather than the end’ of the controversy.
Martin Brundle expressed his desire for the current allegations surrounding Christian Horner to be brought to an “absolute conclusion” as the future of Red Bull team principal is once again under scrutiny on the eve of the 2024 Formula 1 season opener in Bahrain.
Horner was given the all-clear to continue his job as the Red Bull team boss following an internal investigation into allegations of “inappropriate behaviour” lodged by a female employee.
However, on Thursday, an anonymous email address sent a Google Drive document to numerous journalists, team principals and key members of the F1 paddock. The leaked document contained WhatsApp messages and images, some of which were sexually suggestive, forcing Horner to restate his categorical denial of the accusations.
Horner met with F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali and FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem on Friday after making his way back to the paddock in advance of this weekend’s 2024 F1 season opener in Bahrain.
Speaking on Thursday, Brundle stated that while the conclusion of Red Bull’s investigation has put a clear line under the whole situation, the F1 season’s beginning has been overshadowed by material that was leaked by an unidentified source and purportedly showed talks between Horner and the complainant.
Speaking on Sky Sports once more after practice on Friday, Brundle expressed his disappointment that Formula 1 was receiving negative attention and demanded that the most recent allegations should be handled as soon.
“My personal take is [that] I’m very sad about the whole thing,” Brundle said. “A lot of people [are] getting dragged into this.
“In terms of… I think it’s indisputable that Formula One is all over the front pages, all over the internet, all over the world, and it’s not about the racing, it’s not about ‘Who’s going to win this Grand Prix?’ or ‘Who is going to be on pole position?’
“And so I think it’s unquestionable that it’s not good for Formula One, what’s going on, and I do believe that some action needs to be taken to move this along and to bring this to an absolute conclusion.
“As I said earlier in the week, it feels like the beginning of the story rather than the end of it, but we’ll have to wait and see.
“But we do know that all allegations have been denied and that it’s just a horrible situation, isn’t it, whatever way you look at it.”
Before qualifying began later on Friday, Horner declared that he would not “comment on anonymous speculation from unknown sources” and that his primary focus would be exclusively on the race.
Neither the FIA nor F1 have responded to the allegations although Domenicali and Ben Sulayem were scheduled to speak on Friday.
Given the Formula 1 regulations, Horner may still find himself in serious trouble with the organization that oversees the sport. Several team bosses have reached out to F1 and the FIA to evaluate the Red Bull investigation notably Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff.
