In the heart of Red Bull Racing’s empire, Christian Horner is attempting to remain the unshaken commander, with his friend Bernie Ecclestone insisting the former best man at his wedding is still technically “innocent”. As Red Bull GmbH delves into allegations against Horner by a female staff member citing aggressive management, the saga threatens not just his career but casts a shadow over the team’s preparations for the upcoming F1 season.
Despite the swirling controversy, Horner was spotted, decked out in Red Bull colors, overseeing the private debut of the team’s 2024 car, the RB20, as it was put through its early paces at a wet Silverstone by Max Verstappen.
The allegations, as Russian commentator Alexey Popov notes, skirt around the edges of harassment, focusing instead on a purported misuse of power. The essence of the complaint? “For European tastes, Horner did not communicate very politely with his employee and they filed a denunciation to the Red Bull head office in Austria,” he said.
Horner’s commitment to his role, though, remains unwavering, as evidenced by his participation in the RB20’s debut and his plans to attend its official launch. This steadfastness comes amid reports of F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali’s dialogue with Red Bull GmbH and Ecclestone’s behind-the-scenes counsel.
Bernie Ecclestone, at 93, not only vouches for Horner’s integrity but also sheds light on the personal toll of high-stakes success. “The problem is that when you succeed, you make a lot of enemies,” he muses, hinting at a deeper conflict spurred by the death of Red Bull’s patriarch, Dietrich Mateschitz.
“Red Bull is in the public eye as a company and needs answers,” the 93-year-old told German news agency DPA.
Ecclestone’s insights paint a picture of a power struggle within Red Bull, suggesting that Mateschitz’s absence has opened the floodgates to internal discord and opportunistic narratives aimed at dethroning Horner.
“They want to overthrow him,” the former F1 supremo told AFP. “He has achieved enormous success and has made incredible efforts not only for the team, but also for the sport.
“Apart from keeping his head down, my advice to Christian is to do nothing and wait and see what happens.”
