Red Bull boss Christian Horner's fate with the team rests in the hands of the brand's Thai owner: Reports

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner's future reportedly depends on the team's Thai owner.

Red Bull Austria issued a statement earlier this week, acknowledging the allegations against Christian Horner for inappropriate conduct with a fellow employee. The investigation details have not yet been revealed, but the statement mentioned that an external barrister was investigating the matter.

De Telegraaf has now reported that Horner's fate rests in the hands of Chalerm Yoovidhya, who owns a 51% stake in Red Bull. The report read:

"The key to Horner's future at Red Bull, whether he should be put on inactive or can remain in service at all, lies with the Thai Chalerm Yoovidhya. He owns 51 percent of Red Bull's shares and has kept Horner's hand over his head so far. Whether he will continue to do that is still very questionable."

It was earlier reported that Christian Horner has been asked to step down from his position as team principal at RBR.

If Horner does leave, it could shake things up in the 2024 F1 season. Red Bull Racing are heading into the season as the defending constructors' champions.

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Christian Horner denies allegations made against him despite Red Bull Austria's statement

F1-Insider reported RB Austria's statement earlier, which claims that an investigation has been launched by an external barrister since the company takes these matters "extremely seriously."

It read:

"After being made aware of certain recent allegations, the company launched an independent investigation. This process, which is already underway, is being carried out by an external specialist barrister. The company takes these matters extremely seriously and the investigation will be completed as soon as practically possible. It would not be appropriate to comment further at this time.”

Horner, however, has denied the allegations made against him. According to De Telegraaf, after an F1 Commission meeting held in the Formula One Management offices, he said:

"I categorically deny these allegations."

Horner has been the face of the Austrian team and is currently the longest-serving team principal in F1. The team has achieved record-breaking success in the past few years.

With less than two weeks remaining for the team's RB20 to be unveiled, a crucial decision awaits the entire F1 world. The pre-season testing is set to start from February 21 and it will be followed by the year's first Grand Prix in Bahrain.