Horner’s fate will be decided before the Bahrain GP

LONDON:

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner, who has denied a female employee’s allegations about his behaviour, could be out of a job or allowed to continue before the Bahrain Formula 1 Grand Prix gets underway on Saturday.

Well-placed sources told Reuters they expected an announcement from Salzburg-based Austrian parent Red Bull ahead of the race at Sakhir and possibly within the next 48 hours.

An investigation into the sport’s longest-serving captain, and husband of former Spice Girls singer Geri Halliwell, has been underway since January, although details were only made public on February 5.

The British-based group has no control over the process. Neither the energy drink company nor the reigning champions have said what the charges are, although media reports allege inappropriate and controlling behavior towards a female colleague.

Formula 1, which is owned by US-based Liberty Media, said only that it hoped the matter “will be clarified at the earliest opportunity, following a fair and thorough process”.

The sport and the governing body are known to want the matter cleared up as soon as possible to avoid hanging over the match. Horner was interviewed by an independent lawyer on February 9 and the final report, submitted to Red Bull GmbH in Austria, is believed to be based on around 60 hours of interviews with all parties.

Sky Sports broadcaster said the document was more than 100 pages long, but details are likely to remain confidential.

Horner, 50, attended tests in Bahrain last week but has returned to Britain and is working at the Milton Keynes factory. He would normally travel to Bahrain on Wednesday, with the first day of practice on Thursday and qualifying on Friday.

The match is being played on Saturday to allow Bahrain and Saudi Arabia to host matches before the start of Ramadan.

Horner said at the launch of his team’s RB20 car in Milton Keynes this month that he was confident and co-operating with the process and denied “absolutely any allegation that has been made against me”. If he were to be forced out of Red Bull, it would be a seismic shock to the sport.

Horner and his team celebrated the most dominant season in Formula 1 history last year, with Red Bull winning 21 of 22 races, and will start the new season with Dutch driver Max Verstappen chasing a fourth consecutive title.

The team’s other driver is Mexican Sergio Perez. Red Bull is also building an engine operation in Milton Keynes before entering the new engine era in 2026 in partnership with Ford.