SAKHIR, Bahrain — Red Bull Formula One team principal Christian Horner has been cleared of inappropriate behavior after an external investigation into allegations made by a female employee, the team’s parent company, Red Bull GmbH, said in a statement Wednesday.
Red Bull Racing’s parent company confirmed on Feb. 5 that it had launched an investigation into Horner after becoming aware of allegations against him, which it said it took “extremely seriously.”
With the investigation complete, Horner will continue to serve as the team’s principal. The first race of the season takes place in Bahrain on Saturday.
“The independent investigation into the allegations made against Mr. Horner is complete, and Red Bull can confirm that the grievance has been dismissed,” the statement reads, which also confirmed the complainant has a right of appeal.
“Red Bull is confident that the investigation has been fair, rigorous and impartial. 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.”
Horner is the longest-serving team principal in F1, taking charge of Red Bull ahead of its debut in 2005 after the energy drink giant acquired Jaguar’s F1 operation at the end of 2004.
Under Horner, the team has won six constructors’ championships and seven drivers’ titles, including Max Verstappen’s titles in each of the past three seasons. In 2023, Red Bull enjoyed the most successful season in F1 history, winning 21 out of 22 races, 19 courtesy of Verstappen.
Prior to the announcement, Verstappen appeared in Wednesday’s pre-event FIA news conference and said he was “very focused on just the performance of the car” and that he was “trusting the process” that was ongoing.
Asked what he knew about the process and if he still had full confidence in Horner as Red Bull team principal, Verstappen replied: “I do not want to get into that. Because it’s not my case anyway, and I don’t want to be involved with that.
“But as a team, yeah, we do trust that process and we just have to be patient, because there’s no need to start saying things, start screaming things out loud. You have to be patient. I think I’ve learned that over the years anyway.”
Lewis Hamilton, the seven-time world champion, also said before the announcement that the ongoing investigation had been “hanging over the sport”.
“It’ll be really interesting to see how it’s dealt with moving forward in terms of, in the effect it may or may not have on the sport moving forwards,” said Hamilton. “I think it’s a really important moment for the sport to make sure that we stand true to our values.”
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