Christian Horner will attend the launch of Red Bull’s new car on Thursday despite confusion and uncertainty over his status as team principal amid allegations of misconduct he is still coming to terms with investigation.
The allegations were announced by a female Red Bull Racing employee on February 5, when the team’s parent company Red Bull GmbH confirmed they had launched an external independent investigation into the complaints. The investigation is ongoing, but Horner has not been suspended from his duties as Red Bull Racing team principal and chief executive and has categorically denied any wrongdoing.
No legal action has been taken against Horner, he is neither the subject of a court nor a hearing, and he has not yet received any censure from team owners Red Bull Ltd.
While the investigation continues, it is understood that he and the team will continue business as usual and he will attend the launch of the new RB20 car at the team’s headquarters in Milton Keynes, where he will also speak publicly for the first time since the allegations were made. Made. World champion Max Verstappen will also make his first public appearance since the investigation began and will take questions from the media.
Horner spent more than eight hours in extensive interviews in London on Friday with British barristers leading the investigation. It is understood the complaints against him have been described as relating to “controlling” behaviour.
After the meeting, no further information was provided and “it would be inappropriate to comment until the investigation is complete,” Red Bull said in a subsequent statement. There has been no further statement from Horner or parent company Red Bull Ltd, which initiated the investigation.
No timetable has been set for the investigation and it is believed it will continue for as long as necessary, including potentially involving further interviews with Horner, until the team is satisfied the investigation has been fully investigated. This is likely to continue until the first game of the season in Bahrain on March 2.
Red Bull tested the RB20 at Silverstone on Tuesday, ahead of its official launch on Thursday morning. It is expected to be an evolution of the hugely successful formula that has dominated F1 over the past two seasons, including winning 21 of 22 grands prix last year.
