After a week of turmoil and drama, Red Bull Formula 1 team’s beleaguered team principal Christian Horner was helped to a commanding victory in his team’s season-opening race in Bahrain yesterday.
He watched the race with his former Spice Girl wife Geri; This would bring him even more joy, given that he’s fighting for his job, his reputation, and potentially his marriage.
The spotlight continues to be on Horner despite Red Bull’s world champion Max Verstappen emerging victorious once again with a landslide victory.
A team principal at Red Bull for 20 years and one of modern sport’s most successful leaders, he has been in the constant spotlight following allegations of inappropriate behavior by a female employee. This came to a head last week, within 24 hours of his acquittal on these charges, when an email purporting to show messages between Horner and the complaining employee was leaked to F1, the press and others. Its accuracy has not been verified, but its impact was huge.
As a result, interest in F1 has gone far beyond the sports pages. Horner, one of the important figures of motor racing, enjoys politics, discussions between team managers and media attention. But this was a different kind of fight; although supporters argue this is due to Red Bull’s internal power plays.
But it was also very personal. Geri Halliwell-Horner arrived in Bahrain on Thursday evening just as the leaked email hit inboxes around the world. The contents were quickly distributed on social media, leaving her “distraught and humiliated”.
But Halliwell-Horner showed solidarity by joining hands with her husband in the race on Saturday. Although he did not go to the grid before the race as he had many times in the past, he backed Horner throughout, instead remaining in the team’s hospitality sector. But Horner attended a public show of support by Red Bull founder Chaleo’s Thai son, Chalerm Yoovidhya, who owns 51% of the company and is understood to still support Horner.
Speaking after the race, Horner said: “Obviously it wasn’t nice. It was unwanted attention. I’m not going to comment on what motivations the person might have for doing this. My focus is on this team, my family, my wife and going to the races. I have an incredible family, an incredible wife, an incredible team.” I have the support of the team and everyone on that team, my focus is on going racing, winning races and doing my best.
“You can see what better conversation on track means for the whole team. Our focus now is more on the cars.”
It remains to be seen how Halliwell-Horner will ultimately react, and the process is far from over. It all started on February 5, when Red Bull Racing’s parent company, Austria-based energy drink manufacturer Red Bull GmbH, announced that it had launched an investigation into Horner for alleged inappropriate behavior, but “by nature it is controlling.”
Like the British lawyer who conducted the investigation, the name of the female complainant was not disclosed. Horner attended a meeting with the lawyer in London that lasted more than eight hours. The investigation involved many employees and resulted in a report of more than 600 pages.
Red Bull did not comment on the process while it was ongoing. Horner had denied any wrongdoing from the beginning. But he looked tired at the launch of the team’s new car on February 15.
When it became clear that the decision would be announced in Bahrain on Wednesday, the atmosphere in the paddock became heated. Horner might have believed that a corner had been turned when the decision came from Red Bull GmbH to dismiss the complaint, but no information about the investigation, findings or conclusions was released. “The decision has been made, please proceed” was the gist of Red Bull’s statement.
Other team bosses have called for transparency, as have privately the FIA, motorsport’s governing body, F1 Management and the press. Social media published a cover story. Horner and Red Bull, who refused to comment on the process while it was ongoing, said they could no longer comment for confidentiality reasons.
It was a disgraceful and instructive episode for someone who had had a remarkable career up to this point. Deciding early on that he did not have what it took to be a top driver, Horner threw himself into team management and formed the Arden team to compete in F3000. He duly made his mark and caught the attention of Austrian businessman Dietrich Mateschitz, who founded the Red Bull energy drink company. When Mateschitz bought an F1 team to form Red Bull Racing, he appointed Horner as team principal for his first season in 2005.
He was the youngest team principal on the grid at the time and is now the longest-serving. What happened next was quite extraordinary for F1. He won four consecutive world titles with Sebastian Vettel between 2010 and 2013, and the team became one of F1’s three great powers alongside Ferrari and Mercedes. Since then, Verstappen has claimed three more drivers’ championships and six constructors’ championships in total.