Red Bull has made it clear that they still fully support Christian Horner amid rumours that he would be fired.
Red Bull has refuted claims that Christian Horner would be fired ahead of the Australian Grand Prix after reports that the team shareholders met on Sunday night in Dubai surfaced.
This comes as Horner’s role as team principal has been the focus of intense scrutiny following allegations of “inappropriate behaviour” by a female employee ahead of the 2024 season which prompted an internal investigation.
Horner was cleared by the Red Bull investigation and appeared to be remaining on the team, but later several media outlets and F1 figures learned about alleged texts and images he had sent to the accuser after the material was leaked from an anonymous email.
Red Bull advisor Dr. Helmut Marko later disclosed that he was considering quitting the team after he was alleged to be involved in leaking evidence over Horner’s actions.
Meanwhile, Max Verstappen was outspoken in his support of his mentor, declaring that he might “not continue” racing for the team without the Austrian. However, after critical talks Marko ultimately announced that he would not be quitting the team.
Horner’s ex-Spice Girl wife Geri Halliwell has continued to openly support her husband by showing up at the Grand Prix races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
Now, recent rumours claim that Horner could be axed ahead of the Australian Grand Prix by majority owner Chalerm Yoodivhya. Oliver Mintzlaff and other senior Red Bull figures including Mark Mateschitz are also thinking about firing him, according to F1-Insider.
However, the team denied that Voovidhya had turned on the 50-year-old on Sunday night following another spectacular performance in Saudi Arabia, where Verstappen easily won his second race of the season, with Sergio Perez following closely behind in second.
“As Christian has said, he is grateful for the full support of the shareholders and that remains the case,” a statement from a Red Bull spokesperson said.
According to the Telegraph, Yoovidhya and Mintzlaff met on Sunday in Dubai, with the probable subject being the team’s next moves amid ongoing turmoil. This comes after the majority share holder and his companion attended the Bahrain opener earlier in the season as a public show of support for Horner.
Additionally, according to the publication, Marko chose to board Verstappen’s private plane rather than travel back to Europe with Horner on a scheduled flight from Saudi Arabia.
This was after Verstappen told Sky Sports F1 it was ‘absolutely’ good news that Marko’s future appeared to be resolved. Asked whether he really would consider walking away, Verstappen added: “I always said that what is most important is that we work together as a team and that everyone keeps the peace. And that’s what we, I think, all agree on within the team.
“So hopefully, from now on, that is also fully the case. Everyone is trying to focus in the same direction and I think the positive out of all this is that it didn’t hurt our performances. So it’s a very strong team.
“I think also mentally, what you can see from not only the driver’s side, but also mechanics, engineers, everyone is there to do their job and I think everyone, even when there is stuff going on or whatever, they’re just focused on their job as they should be.”
The Dutch racer also acknowledged that he and his father would always “be a team,” and it’s believed that the driver’s contract has a clause stating that Marko’s departure opens the door for his exit.
The team suspended Horner’s accuser after the investigation, but there have been rumours thaat the female employee may be planning to file an appeal of the decision that cleared the team boss.
Red Bull’s current engine provider Honda demanded transparency following the suspension of his accuser for ‘dishonesty.’ According to the Telegraph, a different investigation into leaks over the past few weeks is also in progress as the Australian Grand Prix comes in two weeks.
