On Tuesday afternoon, De Telegraaf and German publication F1 Insider came out with news of an investigation into Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner. Parent company Red Bull decided to hire an outside party to conduct an investigation into allegations against the team boss. On Friday, the two parties will meet. This is what has been said and written about the case so far.
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The allegations
'Transgressive behavior' is the general term used to describe the situation. It would involve behaviour toward specifically a person who worked with Horner but what kind of behaviour that would have been has not yet officially been made.
So long as the investigation is ongoing, Red Bull does not want to make any statements about it, it said in a statement: "We are taking this extremely seriously and the investigation will be completed as soon as possible. At this time, therefore, it would not be appropriate to make any substantive comments."
What does Horner himself say?
Christian Horner has yet to comment substantively on the matter, having only told De Telegraaf that he "completely denies" the allegations.
In German and British media it is written that Horner has meanwhile called in his own army of lawyers and jurists to assist him.
It remains to be seen what they advise him. For now, there is a question of radio silence, but it may also be that he still wants to do his own side of the story in the media ahead of the talks with Red Bull.
Talks with Red Bull
On Friday, parent company Red Bull and Horner will meet and sit down, with Horner’s future a possible subject of the talks.
What the outcome of the talks will be is not clear. What does seem logical, however, is that there should be a final decision on Horner's fate before Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez pull the curtain off their new RB20 next Thursday.
Who decides?
At Red Bull Racing, Horner is the team boss and also the CEO. There is no one within that company above him who could send him away.
The F1 team, however, is owned by parent company Red Bull GmbH.
On the one hand, there is Mark Mateschitz, the son of the late Dietrich Mateschitz, one of the two founders of Red Bull. He owns 49% of the shares in Red Bull.
The other 51% of the shares are held by Thai Chalerm Yoovidhya, the son of the late Vorayuth Yoovidhya, the other founder of Red Bull. So on paper he has the casting vote in this story, and is known to enjoy a close relationship with Horner.
If Horner is indeed removed from his post, he will not let this happen without a fight, having reportedly refused the offer of resigning when it was presented to him.
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