After his acquittal in the affair involving allegedly inappropriate behavior towards an employee, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner must once again defend himself against the allegations at the Bahrain Grand Prix. But the 50-year-old sticks to his version despite the anonymous emails that were suddenly sent.
Christian Horner commented on the email leak – the big issue in the Formula 1 paddock – for the first time on Friday.
“Unfortunately, I cannot comment on speculation from anonymous sources,” the Red Bull team boss told “Sky Sports” on the sidelines of the second day in Bahrain, where the first Formula 1 Grand Prix takes place on Saturday. He emphasized: “The process was thorough and has been completed, the results have been reported. I cannot comment on anonymous sources.”
Around 24 hours after parent company Red Bull announced that an employee’s complaint against Horner had been dismissed, two anonymously sent emails landed in the inboxes of a select group of people on Thursday. The recipients included both Formula 1 team bosses and journalists.
Horner insists: “I won’t comment on that”
A total of 79 files were sent that were supposed to show photos and chats between Horner and the Red Bull employee who had brought the charges. The authenticity cannot initially be confirmed.
Shortly afterwards, Horner stated through Red Bull Racing’s press office that he had “always denied the allegations” and “respected the integrity of the independent investigation”.
When asked by “Sky Sports” what he thought about the fact that someone might be trying to compromise him using the emails he sent, Christian Horner simply insisted on his position: “I won’t comment on that.”
If the files are actually real, so be it sport.decolumnist and RTL expert Felix Görner, Red Bull will inevitably have to revise its decision and part ways with its long-time team manager. Then Oliver Mintzlaff in particular is in demand: “As managing director, he is responsible for all racing activities and can no longer delegate the case away to independent lawyers and commissions.”