Christian Horner has maintained his innocence throughout Red Bull’s investigation into alleged wrongdoing, and on Wednesday he was finally exonerated. He will no doubt feel vindicated, while Red Bull Ltd, the team’s parent company which launched the investigation, will clearly hope this will simply draw a line under the circumstances. They don’t deserve such mercy.
A complaint against Horner by a female employee was dismissed after a nearly eight-week investigation. Speculation has ensued, but nothing about the investigation has been made public, including the nature of the complaints, Horner’s defense, conclusions or how they were reached.
Red Bull Limited, which issued the statement, insisted from the outset that it was a private investigation. In their conclusion, they said the information gathered was confidential and they would not make any further comment out of “respect for all involved.”
This shocking lack of transparency was understandable at the time, but now, with the full report in hand and a clear decision reached, declaring the matter simply closed is a complete no-brainer for all involved. Enlightening conclusion, except perhaps for Red Bull Ltd.
On Wednesday, ahead of the announcement, Lewis Hamilton, as astute and appreciative of the bigger picture as ever, observed why it matters more than the decision itself.
“We always need to do more to try to make the sport and the environment where people work feel safe and inclusive,” he said.
“it [the investigation] This issue does need to be addressed as it hangs over the sport and it will be very interesting to see how it is dealt with which may or may not have an impact on the development of the sport. This is a very important time for the sport to ensure we stay true to our values. “
Hamilton’s Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has called on Red Bull and the investigation to be transparent as it is “a problem for the whole of F1”. Most damning of all, with Ford set to join Red Bull Racing as an engine partner in 2026, Ford CEO Jim Farley wrote to the team expressing concern about “the lack of adequate engagement with your corporate partners.” Transparency” and said he wanted a “full accounting of all findings.”
One wonders if Farley did receive the full account, or if he too was rejected. If so, he will demand answers, and if he gets them, why not let the wider public get them?
At this time, without revealing any details, it is impossible to make a judgment about what happened. In fact, even veterans of the sport have expressed unease, noting that it would be difficult to comment or declare a satisfying ending without information about what happened or how the conclusion was reached. .
Even the full nature of the complaint has yet to be formally explained. This simple detail immediately puts an end to some of the more sensational rumors still circulating in F1.
It’s not a good sign for the sport and the issue has been hanging around for several weeks, but now that it’s been told it’s to Red Bull’s satisfaction there’s nothing to see here, so move on.
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But so much still doesn’t add up. Red Bull Ltd behaved somewhat uncharacteristically when it first publicly announced the investigation. Their modus operandi in such cases is often to say nothing, and conceivably they could have done so before the entire process was done behind closed doors. They chose not to, but are now ready again.
It’s a strange agenda, and one that fits the theory advanced by Horner’s supporters that the way the incident was handled was part of an orchestrated power play by some at Red Bull Austria to destabilize or even topple Horner. Accept.
If that’s the case, then it’s a clumsy, ill-considered thing to do, a blunt tool that quickly becomes unwieldy and awkward. If this is indeed the case, the lack of disclosure may only further confuse the point. Likewise, without information, judgment is nearly impossible.
At the Red Bull launch two weeks ago, Horner once again firmly insisted that he had done nothing wrong. He has repeatedly denied wrongdoing while insisting that he can say nothing more because “the process is ongoing”, he said. Feeling a little tired.
On Wednesday, ahead of the decision being announced, Red Bull world champion Max Verstappen said he “trusts the process”. The process is now complete, but it’s almost impossible to trust any program if you don’t know anything about it. This must be obvious to Horner, Red Bull and Verstappen.
If Red Bull, and by extension, Formula 1, truly intends to stick to its values as Hamilton rightly suggests, the current conclusion does not go far enough.
