Christian Horner reportedly offered £650,000 to settle his sexual misconduct investigation launched by Red Bull

The gravity of sexual misconduct allegations surrounding Red Bull team principal Christian Horner seems to have deepened after recent reports suggest the 50-year-old and his lawyers offered a six-figure sum to settle the matter.

The latest report by Dutch media outlet De Telegraaf states that a female employee approached the Red Bull hierarchy and accused the team principal of sexually transgressive behavior in December 2023.

After the employee shared the text messages with the management, the Austrian company hired an external lawyer to investigate the matter. De Telegraaf has obtained the messages and states that the team principal sent sexually oriented messages regularly over a considerable period of time.

It further reported that the Red Bull team principal tried to keep the accusations hidden from the public, with his lawyers allegedly offering a £650,000 ($816,510) settlement to the female employee.

Dutch F1 reporter Erik Van Haren wrote on X (formerly Twitter):

"Team boss Christian Horner of Red Bull Racing is accused of sexual misconduct, according to reports and documents...On February 3, lawyers for Brit (50) offered the reporter to settle for £650,000." (Translated from Dutch)

Several other key players in the F1 world are reportedly aware of the allegations concerning the Red Bull head honcho.

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Red Bull team principal Christian Horner denies allegations at RB20 launch

The reigning constructors' champions recently unveiled their 2024 challenger - the RB20 - at their Milton Keynes Campus on February 16.

Max Verstappen, Sergio Perez and team principal Christian Horner were in attendance for the launch event.

Despite the anticipation surrounding Red Bull's latest challenger, the elephant in the room could not be ignored with the accusations against the team principal still being investigated by the parent company.

Christian Horner addressed and fully denied the allegations against him at the launch event. He stated that he couldn't disclose further details about the accusations due to the ongoing investigation.

"I obviously deny fully the allegations that have been made against me," Horner told CNN on Thursday at the launch event. "There’s an ongoing process and that obviously is being worked through at the moment."

"I can’t talk further about that, but obviously working with that process," he added.

When asked by De Telegraaf, the 50-year-old had denied the allegations when they first surfaced. The Red Bull team principal continues to maintain this stance.

Horner was investigated by an external barrister on February 9 in London, with the investigation reportedly having not been resolved. As of now, there is no official statement from the company regarding the investigation.