Red Bull Racing—Formula 1’s reigning World Champions—have been in a stormy situation of turmoil and rumpus for the past month, courtesy of the investigation against Team Principal Christian Horner. The investigation’s lengthiness had been the subject matter of a piping-hot debate in the F1 community, as the season got nearer and nearer.
However, Red Bull now looks to have saved its skin, especially Christian Horner’s, right at the death just before the opening race.
Christian Horner will stay with Red Bull after investigation
Team Principal Christian Horner’s case has been bruising the Red Bull camp, right till the 2024 F1 season’s start. The investigation reached a new level of complexity when the ‘serious allegations’ of ‘inappropriate behavior’ got a ‘se*ual’ touch to it, and the pressures by Formula 1 and Ford CEO Jim Farley made the situation worse for the Austrian team.
But the Milton-Keynes team has now shaken off the extra burden, by finishing off Christian Horner’s case finally.
On Wednesday, February 28, Red Bull concluded the ‘in-house’ investigation against Christian Horner, closing off the curtains of a scenario that has disrupted the team’s preparation of the 2024 Formula 1 season.
In an official statement, Red Bull GmbH—Red Bull’s parent company—quoted, “The independent investigation into the allegations made against Mr. Horner is complete, and Red Bull can confirm that the grievance has been dismissed. The complainant has a right of appeal. Red Bull is confident that the investigation has been fair, rigorous and impartial.”
Maintaining the investigation’s ‘confidential and internal’ status, the company also stated, “The investigation report is confidential and contains the private information of the parties and third parties who assisted in the investigation, and therefore we will not be commenting further out of respect for all concerned. Red Bull will continue striving to meet the highest workplace standards.”
From what SportsZion understands, Red Bull Racing is planning to avoid any further complications due to this ‘now-closed’ investigation and will be entering the season-opener totally focused.
Red Bull’s ‘in-house’ investigation may have concluded and rid the Bulls of a haywire headache, but the final verdict has surely left the fans disappointed and furious.
Red Bull’s Christian Horner investigation results had F1 fans going furious
Red Bull has come under fire by the Formula 1 fans, who have been left rather disappointed and furious, by the team’s final verdict on Christian Horner’s case, one that is especially of a ‘se*ual’ nature. Right after the team announced the verdict, F1 fans soon took to social media to express their disgust and anger.
Bringing a ‘behind-the-scenes’ financial settlement into the mix, one fan commented on X with the caption “Money talks”.
One X user posted, “‘No investigation necessary’ strikes again”, expressing his doubts over Red Bull’s stance on the case.
Another fan commented, rather sarcastically, with the caption, “It’s a man’s world”.
Expressing his shock over Red Bull’s confidentiality and ‘lack of transparency’ over the investigation, one user wrote the following:
Although the F1 fans are disappointed with this case, Christian Horner will be in the Red Bull paddocks between 29th February to 2nd March at the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix
Was Christian Horner’s investigation really ‘fair, rigorous, and impartial’? Or did Red Bull pull off some behind-the-scenes mischief? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.