The Christian Horner case has one more bizarre episode. Now a mysterious message is said to have been sent – making the recipients sit up and take notice.
Despite the “acquittal” of Christian Horner by Red Bull, the situation surrounding the successful team boss of the Austrian racing team has not calmed down. The 50-year-old sports director of the Formula 1 racing team was accused of inappropriate behavior by an employee. However, after an internal investigation, Red Bull cleared its senior executives of the serious allegations.
Now the situation is apparently escalating further. Sports journalist Jenna Fryer wrote on X on Thursday afternoon: “A Google Drive containing ‘Christian Horner evidence’ was just emailed to hundreds of journalists from an anonymous account.”
A short time later, Fryer added: “Correction: In addition to journalists, the email was also sent to the other team bosses, Liberty Media (Formula 1 owner, editor’s note), Stefano Domenicali (Formula 1 boss, note . Red.) and many others. The file contains photos of WhatsApp messages and other photos.”
“Totally crazy”
Some journalists at X have now confirmed that they had received the email, but were cautious about the content of the files. As several media outlets report, including the specialist portal “formel1.de”, the content of the email is highly explosive. Among other things, there are said to be a number of spicy screenshots, including chat conversations with suggestive dialogues between Red Bull team boss Horner and the employee.
“I received the anonymous email. No indication as to whether the ‘evidence’ is verifiable or real,” wrote reporter Niharika Ghorpade at X. And added: “Whoever sent this email has Horner in their sights.” Shortly afterwards, Ghorpade added: “It looks more like a fake chat app was used. Totally crazy.”
Other journalists also joined in. “Someone is desperately trying to force Horner’s dismissal.” Another said: “How can this be authenticated? In a world with artificial intelligence, that doesn’t happen quickly.”
Red Bull motorsport consultant Helmut Marko also told the “Bild” newspaper that he was surprised by the development: “I didn’t even notice that. I’m flabbergasted and surprised that the documents were leaked. I’ve never seen them myself .”
Horner’s leadership style is also being questioned
On Thursday evening, Horner himself said in a statement: He would “not comment on anonymous speculation. But I would like to emphasize once again that I have always rejected the allegations.” He said he “respected the independent investigation and cooperated fully at every step.” And further: “I’m fully concentrating on the start of the season.”
Parent company Red Bull Austria announced on Wednesday: “The independent investigation into the allegations against Mr. Horner has been completed and Red Bull can confirm that the lawsuit has been dismissed.” And further: “The plaintiff has the right to appeal. Red Bull is convinced that the investigation was carried out fairly, conscientiously and impartially.”
The reports about the allegations against Horner varied widely: sometimes it was about the 50-year-old’s leadership style, sometimes it was about improper behavior towards an employee.