F1 News: Horner could lose F1 job over accusations, wife in tears (2nd Update)

According to Dutch publication Telegraaf, the statement about the investigation set up will be a further confirmation for Horner that more and more people within Red Bull prefer him stepping down and his future lies with Chalerm Yoovidhya who owns 51 percent of Red Bull’s shares.

–by Mark Cipolloni–

The accusations of cross-border behavior towards at least one worker(‘werkneemster’ is used in the originally Dutch article which has a female gentile suffix), who according to various sources are supported by a lot of evidence, now direct him towards the exit. Behind the scenes, all scenarios have already been considered.

Chalerm Yoovidhya is a Thai billionaire businessman and heir to the Red Bull fortune. As of 2020, Forbes estimates his net worth at US$33.4 billion.

Is it possible that Yoovidhya wants Thai driver Alex Albon back in the Red Bull seat alongside Max Verstappen and Christian Horner said no?

If that assumption is correct, then perhaps Yoovidhya wants Horner removed and this incident is his opportunity to terminate Horner’s employment and open the door for Albon’s return?

Crazy stuff if true.

Mirror Sport and AP have reported that the allegation made against Horner is based upon his aggressive style of management. The details of the specific complaint will be weighed up as part of the investigation. A hearing on the matter will be held on Friday, with Horner in attendance.

If true, it sounds like the grievance may be more due to Horner being hard on an employee for poor performance, and it may have happened more than once as there are reports of a dossier of evidence – so it sounds like this employee saved all the emails and used them in her complaint.

Again, we do not know for certain because only bits and pieces of evidence have been reported, and the team will not comment to the media.

A decision on Horner’s future in his role is unlikely to be taken before the investigation has reached a conclusion, and, meanwhile, he continues in his role and denies all the allegations.

(GMM) Ahead of another season of expected dominance for Red Bull, the entire Formula 1 career of the team’s long-serving boss Christian Horner is in tatters.

“It’s all nonsense,” Blick newspaper quotes the 50-year-old Briton as saying as he emerged from the F1 Commission meeting in London, where the tweaked ‘sprint’ weekend format for 2024 was agreed.

Horner is accused of inappropriate behavior by a female team member at Milton-Keynes, with owner Red Bull’s Austrian parent company ordering an independent investigation some days ago.

It is believed he is being accused of sending photos to the team member, amid rumors an entire dossier of evidence has been compiled. Auto Bild claims the whispers first emerged from the recent ski event in Kitzbuhel, which was attended by the likes of rival bosses Toto Wolff and Zak Brown.

The first media report then surfaced in the pages of the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, with a Red Bull spokesperson confirming that an investigation is underway.

“This process is being carried out by an external specialist barrister,” the energy drink company said. “The company takes these matters extremely seriously.”

Dr Helmut Marko, whose own position in the team was recently in doubt amid a rumored power struggle with Horner, told motorsport-total.com: “I’m not saying anything about this.”

That German publication believes Red Bull executives, including new CEO Oliver Mintzlaff, have recommended that Horner voluntarily resign – but he has refused.

Former F1 driver Christijan Albers, however, believes Horner’s position is now very much in doubt.

“Whether this has happened or not, his head will be cut off,” he told De Telegraaf. “Horner has some enemies in the paddock, and it is certain, especially as a winning team, that this is going to be a difficult story for him.

“It’s good that things like this are now being discussed in the world, and that people are not afraid that it will damage their own career if they say something.

“On the other hand, you also have people who abuse these kinds of things with bad intentions. It can completely destroy someone’s career, especially with all the press.

“It is very difficult to turn it around once it is announced that an investigation is taking place. The big problem is that it’s now being picked up everywhere. So even if he’s done nothing, he still has a problem that cannot be stopped.”

Albers speculates that Horner, who is married to Spice Girl Geri Halliwell, will currently be in frenzied talks to limit the damage.

“There’s only one option for him,” said the Dutchman. “Try to make an agreement with the victim as quickly as possible to cover it up. That is the only way to keep his career afloat.”

—

Wife Geri in Tears

Given Horner’s high-ranking position, the female staffer is understood to have complained to the team’s parent company at Red Bull in Austria.

Staff at the team’s UK base in Milton Keynes claimed to have no knowledge of the allegations when approached yesterday.

Wife Geri, 51, was standing by him last night, telling pals she does not believe gossip that has been swirling for days.

A source close to the Ginger Spice star said: “Geri has been in floods of tears all weekend while looking after her kids.

“She is insisting Christian has done nothing wrong.”

He has a seven-year-old son with Geri and a daughter from a previous relationship.

Geri also has a 17-year-old daughter from a previous relationship.

Joe Saward reports that It has long been believed that Christian Horner and Adrian Newey have contracts that protect one another. If one leaves, the other can as well. This has never been confirmed – but it makes for an interesting dynamic if something were to happen to Horner.