Christian Horner's future is cloudy and will likely remain so until this Friday, when he faces a hearing with external lawyers retained by the Red Bull Group regarding allegations made against him by a Red Bull employee.
The team principal of the reigning Formula 1 world champion team is under investigation by the parent company – Red Bull based in Austria – due to some unspecified actions that were apparently carried out between the two people involved.
A spokesperson for Red Bull released a statement on the matter yesterday, saying: “After being made aware of some recent allegations, the company has launched an independent investigation. This process, which is already underway, is being led by a lawyer external specialist”.
“The company takes these matters extremely seriously and the investigation will be completed as quickly as possible. It would not be appropriate to comment further on this matter at this time.”
According to Sky Sports F1 UK, Horner will have a meeting with independent legal representatives on Friday to discuss the matter. In the meantime, the team principal continued to carry out his duties in Red Bull Racing, attending the F1 Commission meeting yesterday in London, denying any wrongdoing.
Christian Horner, Team Principal, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Erik Junius
Speaking to the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, Horner declared: “I completely deny what is circulating in these hours”, avoiding further comment on the matter.
In the affair linked to Horner, the possibility that what is happening is also linked to political scenarios within the team should not be underestimated, especially after the death of Dietrich Mateschitz a year and a half ago. Since then the Austrian group has lacked the glue and it is not far-fetched to think that the factions are playing their own game to gain advantages and more power.
Red Bull is at a very important moment in the season. In 9 days the veils will fall from the RB20, a single-seater that will have to defend the titles won in 2023 after a practically perfect season with 20 victories in 21 races.
The presentation of the single-seater is set for February 15th, the day after McLaren and Mercedes – who will unveil their respective single-seaters on the 14th – and two days after Ferrari, which will do so on the 13th.
The RB20 is expected as the second evolution of the RB18, the car with which Max Verstappen won his second world title before dominating the 2023 World Championship with the RB19. Adrian Newey, Red Bull's technical director, revealed the nature of the new car that will come out of the Milton Keynes factories through his team's official podcast.
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