F1 | Horner case, Marko: “We need time, Red Bull reacted well”

Following complaints from an employee, Horner has become the subject of an investigation undertaken directly by Red Bull's Austrian parent company, which is evaluating his behavior.

As part of the investigation, Horner was interviewed by an independent lawyer on February 9, with the latter tasked with gathering evidence of the unspecified allegations at the heart of the matter.

Horner remained in his role as Team Principal during the investigation, attending both the shakedown at Silverstone and the presentation of the RB20 at the Milton Keynes factory, home of the team.

But with the new F1 season upon us, and with the risk of the issue having repercussions on the inaugural race in Bahrain, Formula 1 leaders last weekend urged Red Bull to make it a priority to conclude the investigation as soon as possible possible time.

“We understand that Red Bull has launched an independent investigation into the internal allegations within Red Bull Racing. We hope that this matter will be clarified as soon as possible, following a fair and thorough process, and we will not be commenting further at this time,” it reads. the statement released by F1, which was followed by one from the FIA ​​in which the governing body emphasized that it upholds the highest standards of integrity.

With team personnel traveling to Bahrain, where official testing gets underway tomorrow, there is still no official word from Red Bull on the progress of the investigation, nor any hint of potential action.

Christian Horner, Team Principal, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

While this clearly would not represent an ideal situation for Liberty Media, who would prefer to see the issue resolved before the cars hit the track, on the other hand Helmut Marko thinks it is right that Red Bull takes the time necessary to evaluate all the evidence in detail, rather than making a hasty decision.

Speaking to Red Bull's ServusTV channel about Horner's situation, Marko explained that the length of the trial is mainly due to the need to conduct an in-depth investigation evaluating all the evidence available.

“As you know, this is an internal investigation. The sooner a result is available, the better, because obviously rumors and other stories are bound to crop up due to the long duration. I think Red Bull has reacted very well to this situation. The long duration of this investigation is not their fault. They are trying to conduct a fair investigation and react accordingly.”