Christian Horner issues statement after ‘proofs’ from his internal investigation reportedly leak to multiple F1 entities

Red Bull Team principal Christian Horner addressed the leaked information concerning his case on February 29, denying many allegations made against him.

AP News journalist Jenna Fryer first broke the news on X (formerly Twitter) while Bahrain GP's FP2 session was underway. Fryer claimed that an anonymous account had distributed a Google Drive link containing evidence related to the case to Liberty Media, F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali, F1 team principals, and "hundreds of journalists."

The evidence allegedly contained pictures of WhatsApp messages and other photos related to the case. However, the authenticity of the sender and the evidence against Horner is not verified.

Christian Horner addressed the leak of information maintaining his stance and denied the allegations against him. Speaking to the media on Thursday, a spokesperson said on behalf of the Team Principal, (via AP News):

"I won't comment on anonymous speculation, but to reiterate, I have always denied the allegations."

"I respected the integrity of the independent investigation and fully cooperated with it every step of the way. It was a thorough and fair investigation conducted by an independent specialist barrister and it has concluded, dismissing the complaint made. I remain fully focused on the start of the season."

Red Bull GmBH had dismissed the grievance filed against the 50-year-old team principal in a statement released on the eve of the Bahrain GP weekend. The statement didn't delve into the details of the parties involved for confidentiality.

Christian Horner has been denying the allegations since they first became public knowledge in early February and has maintained his stance throughout the investigation.

Following the conclusion of the investigation by Red Bull, Horner remains focused on defending both titles in the 2024 season.

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Mercedes F1 boss calls for transparency in Christian Horner's investigation

Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff has called for transparency in Red Bull's investigation of the allegations against Christian Horner, citing that F1 as a global sport, needs more transparency on such a critical matter.

Wolff was asked about Red Bull's statement in a press conference at Bahrain GP when he told the media including Sportskeeda:

"My personal opinion is we can’t really look at behind the curtain. At the end of the day there is a lady in an organisation that has spoken to HR and said there is an issue and it was investigated and yesterday the sport has received a message ‘it’s all fine. We’ve looked at it.’"

"I believe that with the sport as a global sport, on such critical topics, it needs more transparency and I wonder what the sport’s position is? We are competitors, we are a team and we can have our own personal opinions or not."

"...But I just simply think that as a sport, we cannot afford to leave things in the opaque on critical topics like this because it’s going to catch us out eventually."

McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown also addressed the matter stating that F1 and the FIA have the responsibility of ensuring that the investigation was 'fully transparent'.