Red Bull’s Christian Horner investigation likely to conclude after their 2024 F1 challenger launch - Reports

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner went through with his first interview with an independent investigator in the case against him for ‘inappropriate behavior’. The interview is said to have lasted eight hours, and the investigation is unlikely to conclude before the launch of the RB20 on February 15.

Sky Sports' Craig Slater reported that no resolution was reached on the matter after Horner's interview. He expects the process to be a long one, which could even last until the first race in Bahrain on March 2. It is understood that the Austrian headquarters of the team in Salzburg have hired an independent barrister to carry out the investigation, as the Briton is accused of ‘coercive and controlling behavior’ in the workplace against a female colleague.

Updating the situation on the Red Bull team principal, Slater reported:

“It’s finished, I can tell you that in the last few minutes, Christian Horner’s interview with the investigator with this what is I suppose a claim of ‘inappropriate behaviour’ ultimately in the work place. Christian Horner is accused by a female member of Red Bull staff of controlling and coercive behaviour."

"Red Bull, their head office in Salzburg employed an independent barrister to investigate this and he has had his first interview with Christian Horner today. It’s lasted the best part of eight hours. Few facts were in the break for lunch, but it has just finished within the last few minutes.”

Slater continued:

“No resolution to this matter, which I wasn’t expecting today. My understanding is this will be quite a long process. Still Christian Horner continues to maintain his innocence in all of this and wants to clear his name in all of this. And this will operate to the timescale to which the investigator sets, not to a Formula 1 timescale. So it means, there’s every likelihood it could be still be ongoing this process even as Red Bull launch their car next Thursday, which is 15th February."

“Could even still be ongoing as Formula 1 preseason testing on the 20th of this month. And who knows it might carry on to the first Grand Prix of the season which is second of March, which is awkward for the team but paramount in all of this, that there is fairness to the parties involved. And that’s why they employed this independent investigator in the first place.”

Despite the lack of confirmed details of the allegations, various reports suggest that the damage to the Red Bull team principal’s image could force him to step down from his position.

Slater suggested that the reason for the independent external investigator was to ensure fairness towards both parties involved. However, the prolonged process could cloud the launch of their car and dominate the news cycle until the season begins.

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Reports suggest that Christian Horner has filmed for the Red Bull car launch

Red Bull Racing chief Christian Horner is said to have been continuing business as usual at the headquarters in Milton Keynes. Planet F1 reported that the Briton has even filmed material for the launch of their 2024 car, the RB20.

Daily Mail, on the other hand, suggests that the first meeting was to hear out Horner’s side before asking the female staff member to respond. Similar to Sky Sports, the Daily Mail report said that it will take a bit of back and forth between both parties involved before there’s a resolution.

Revealing details about Horner’s situation at Red Bull, Planet F1 said:

“Horner has also been in the office since Wednesday, even filming material for RB20 launch, and Red Bull have made a point of not sharing meeting details with Milton Keynes staff.”

Daily Mail reported that an F1 insider explained the matter to them, saying:

“It will take some time. It is the first time they have spoken to Christian to get his view on it and they need to ask the woman in question to respond. It may take a bit of to-and-fro to get a resolution.”

After the first interview with the investigator, it is apparent that the investigation process will continue beyond the launch of the RB20. Whether the Milton Keynes CEO will be present at the car launch remains uncertain, but the team is under pressure to resolve the matter as soon as possible.