The author of the allegations against Red Bull team boss Christian Horner has apparently been suspended from the world champion racing team. This was reported on Thursday before the Formula 1 race in Saudi Arabia on Sunday (6 p.m. CET in the FAZ live ticker for Formula 1 and on Sky), among others by the AFP news agency, citing informed circles. The British BBC also reported accordingly.
Accordingly, the employee has been released from duty; this is directly related to the internal investigation into the case. This was completed about a week ago. The BBC reports that the employee is accused of dishonesty.
The team, the racing team of world champion Max Verstappen, “cannot comment on the individual situation of employees,” a spokesman told AFP. Horner himself made similar comments at a press conference in Jeddah on Thursday afternoon. The Red Bull Group, which had the investigation carried out by an investigative lawyer, also did not initially comment on the matter when asked by the FAZ.
Week-long investigation
The employee had accused Horner of “inappropriate behavior,” which has been known since the beginning of February. The company announced the results of a week-long investigation in a brief press release on February 28th. The complaint was dismissed and “the complaining party” had the right to appeal, it said, among other things.
Details of the allegations have not been disclosed to date. One day after the results of the investigation were announced, an anonymous sender sent an email to high-ranking representatives of Formula 1, the world association FIA and numerous reporters. It contains alleged information about the Horner case.
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In addition, Jos Verstappen, the world champion’s father, called for team boss Horner’s resignation last weekend. “There will be tensions here as long as he is in his position,” the 51-year-old was quoted as saying by the English Daily Mail: “The team is in danger of being torn apart.”