It remains to be seen whether Christian Horner will actually still be Red Bull team boss at the first race of the season. Nevertheless, he is said to be on his way to Bahrain.
Christian Horner has apparently made his journey to the Formula 1 season opener under uncertain circumstances. The Red Bull team boss is said to have boarded the plane to Bahrain on Wednesday, several British specialist media reported unanimously. Even a few days before the first race of the year on Saturday (4 p.m. in the live ticker on t-online), the result of the internal investigation is uncertain – and therefore also whether Horner will still be team boss when the race starts.
The Brit was accused of inappropriate behavior by a member of the team. Details are not officially known, Horner denies any wrongdoing. The investigation has been running since the beginning of February, in which an investigative lawyer has compiled information and presented it to the Red Bull Group.
Horner probably doesn’t know his fate yet either
According to British media, Horner was said not to have been informed about the outcome of the investigation when he began his journey. When asked on Wednesday, the Red Bull Racing team did not want to comment on the rest of the day; Horner was not yet in the paddock at midday.
Decision-making and dealing with the matter are likely to be made more difficult by the structures of the team and the group. The Red Bull Racing team, led by Horner, has so far carried out the car presentation and also the test drives as usual with Horner. However, the group is not only in Austrian hands, the Thai shareholders hold 51 percent – and are reportedly supporting Horner.
Uncomfortable topic for Formula 1
The topic is extremely uncomfortable for Formula 1 because it overshadows the entire run-up to the season. The racing series and also the world association FIA have therefore already publicly asked for a solution as quickly as possible. The competition also wants this. “We have had no other topic than this matter for two weeks,” said Mercedes Motorsport Director Toto Wolff on ORF.
He doesn’t want to evaluate the allegations against Horner; this is “very important.” The fundamental issue is a dangerous area for the racing series. “Formula 1 has a reputation issue, because we are a sport where it is mainly men in management positions and in the car, and we want to do more,” said Wolff: “We want more women, we want to have more diversity in this sport , we want to be transparent.”