The Christian Horner case is putting Red Bull’s Formula 1 racing team to the test. Officially, an employee’s complaint against the team boss has been dismissed. But one question remains: What does the woman do? According to a report, a deadline is approaching.
It was an extremely dry communiqué with which Red Bull acquitted its Formula 1 team boss Christian Horner of accusations of cross-border behavior shortly before the F1 start in Bahrain. “The independent investigation into the allegations made against Christian Horner has been completed. Red Bull can confirm that the complaint has been dismissed,” the company said succinctly.
Red Bull emphasized that the process, in which an external lawyer interviewed the employee and Horner and collected possible evidence, was “thorough, fair and unbiased”. Further details from the investigation report are not being given out of respect for the people involved contain private information.
And then there was another sentence: “The complaining party has the right to appeal.” This means that the employee who accuses Horner of inappropriate behavior in his supervisory role does not have to accept the verdict.
As the “Times” reports, the employee as the “complaining party” has five working days to challenge the Red Bull ruling. That would mean: The deadline for an appeal expires on Wednesday, March 6th.
What does the woman who is supposed to be Christian Horner’s personal assistant do? If she files an appeal, Red Bull will have to look into the case again, review its own investigation, dispel doubts – and decide again.
Formula 1: Horner case has long been a political Red Bull power struggle
And there are doubts, for example about the independence of the lawyer involved, or so several media outlets report. In addition, Red Bull is still accused of a lack of transparency in the process: from those responsible for Formula 1, from other teams, from the future engine partner Ford, who demands insight into the process.
Even if the Red Bull employee misses the internal appeal deadline, the woman still has the option of going to civil court. The Horner case would then be a case for the British judiciary.
Either way: the calm that Red Bull had hoped for through the investigation has not materialized – and probably won’t without transparency. An anonymous email with leaked, alleged chat histories of Horner and the woman as well as spicy photos shocked Formula 1 from Neue in Bahrain.
On the sidelines of the Bahrain GP, Max Verstappen’s father Jos escalated the case and accused Horner of trying to divide Red Bull. An indirect demand for resignation. Horner himself categorically rejects resignation – and knows that the Thai majority owners Red Bulls have his back.
According to a report from “Business F1”, the Austrian Red Bull side around CEO Oliver Mintzlaff would have preferred to dismiss the Brit. The Horner case has long since become a political power struggle at Red Bull.