Red Bull’s mysterious investigation into Christian Horner overshadowing start of F1 season
This week, testing for the 2017 Formula One season began, and Christian Horner, the CEO of Red Bull Racing, was still heading his team as it began its attempt for a fourth straight championship.
Horner was again in the spotlight a week ago at Red Bull’s 2024 car presentation, which served as a virtual highlight reel of Horner’s success since taking over as team principal in 2005. Make no mistake, the longest-tenured team chief in F1 understands how to win: Horner has led Red Bull to six constructors’ championships and seven drivers’ championships.
But as he proceeds with “business as usual” — Horner’s own words at the launch last week — no one can figure out how he has remained on the job despite an internal inquiry into charges of inappropriate conduct published by parent firm Red Bull on February 5.
More than two weeks later, the motorsports community is abuzz with daily rumors and speculation about what Horner was accused of doing by a team member. There has been no word from Austria since the probe was launched, but a defiant Horner has indicated that he will be part of the squad when the F1 season begins next weekend in Bahrain.
Despite F1 and owner Liberty Media’s courting of American fans and relationships with American corporations, the handling of the Horner situation is completely strange. F1 and its governing body, the FIA, have both released statements advocating a swift resolution to the probe, although neither is looking into the problem itself.
In the United States, small infractions in the NFL or NBA can result in full-scale investigations and league fines. NASCAR banned driver Noah Gragson for “liking” an offensive meme on Instagram.
But nothing appears to have changed for Horner after Red Bull announced that company was looking into the situation. Future engine supplier Ford openly requested a resolution. Visa, which was named as title sponsor for Red Bull’s second team in January, and Oracle, the major Red Bull sponsor, have both declined to comment on the Horner inquiry.
In the meanwhile, information has trickled out. Because much of it has come from Dutch media reports, both three-time world champion Max Verstappen and his father, Jos, have been implicated as leakers.
What was initially described internally as an investigation of Horner’s “aggressive management style” has evolved into allegations of sexual assault. During Horner’s deposition, approximately 100 pieces of evidence were purportedly brought, including an offer of a six-figure compensation to his accuser.
F1 really wants the speculation to stop, especially when the season begins next week and “Drive to Survive” has just released a new season on Netflix. Horner appears in all the trailers.
What is true is that the knives are out for Horner throughout Formula One, and his fate is far more convoluted than what Red Bull’s probe reveals.
Dietrich Mateschitz and Chaleo Yoovidhya, a Thai pharmacist, launched Red Bull, and Horner knew them both well. But Mateschitz died last year, and while his son, Mark, manages the company, the family owns only 49% of Red Bull.
Yoovidhya owns the other 51%, and Horner’s future with Red Bull could be decided in a showdown between the two families. If the Thai side of the business judges that Horner has done nothing to merit his dismissal, Mark Mateschitz’s findings in this internal probe may be irrelevant.
It’s an unpleasant distraction that no one wants ahead of the season opening next weekend, with some teams now worrying how the daily turmoil surrounding the Horner situation will harm them in their search of American sponsors.
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has asked for transparency in the inquiry as the new season approaches.
“Formula 1 and what the teams do, we stand for inclusion, equality, fairness, and diversity, and it’s not just talking about it, but living it day in and day out,” Wolff, a chief Horner opponent, said Wednesday on the opening day of testing.
“I believe that what Red Bull has undertaken as an independent investigation, if done properly, with transparency and rigor, is something that we should look into. What the results are, what they represent for Formula One, and what we can learn from it.
James Vowles, Williams’ team principal, stated in an interview with Bloomberg how damaging the inquiry could be to F1’s developing reputation and emphasis on diversity and inclusion.
“The sport itself, 20 years ago, was undeniably male-dominated.” Vowles believes a team often consists of white, male, 40-year-old individuals. “That is changing, and only for the better. These are allegations. I’m afraid I don’t comprehend what’s going on or why it happened.
“But again, we all have to look each other in the mirror and make sure we are posing the right questions internally and acting in a way that we can only be proud of, not today, but in the next 10 years.”
For the time being, the Horner probe — not Lewis Hamilton’s shocking choice to join Ferrari in 2025, or F1’s refusal of Michael Andretti to join the championship, or Haas’ offseason dismissal of team principal and “DTS” star Guenther Steiner — is the primary topic of debate as the season approaches.
Verstappen simply wants to drive and win races—he won 19 of 22 last season—so if all the emphasis is on his boss, he’ll be left alone to concentrate on his 2024 vehicle and a fourth consecutive title.
Horner and the others whisper, waiting to see what happens next.
