Christian Horner WILL be at Red Bull launch tomorrow in first public appearance since ‘inappropriate behaviour’ probe
CHRISTIAN HORNER will attend Red Bull Racing’s season launch event tomorrow as planned.
It will be Horner’s first public appearance since facing accusations of “inappropriate behaviour” by a female colleague and facing an eight-hour grilling last Friday.
The results of the crunch talks have not been made public – meaning Horner’s future at Red Bull still hangs in the balance.
Horner – who is married to Spice Girl Geri Halliwell – has reportedly referred to the allegations as “nuts” and said publicly: “I completely deny these claims.”
And the 50-year-old has stuck to his work commitments this week as the team gears up for the start of the F1 season in Bahrain.
He’s scheduled to be at the season launch event on Thursday at Red Bull’s Milton Keynes HQ where they will unveil the new car.
It’s likely that questions about the probe into Horner will be declined until the official report is presented to Red Bull at their base in Austria.
It was initially believed a decision would be made ahead of the launch – but it is likely there will not be an outcome until the season opener.
It comes after Horner joined the team at Silverstone for a secret test run of the new RB20 car on Tuesday.
F1 teams are allowed two filming days to capture content of their cars on track – and it also offers the potential to run the car for the first time.
Horner was surrounded by his fellow Red Bull team in the video as they all stood outside of the garage in the pouring rain.
Both Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez got their first taste of this season’s challenger – with the Dutchman looking to defend his world drivers’ title.
F1 was rocked by the news that the sport’s longest-standing team principal had been placed under investigation by Red Bull’s Austria-based parent company.
It allegedly compiled a “dossier of incriminating material” regarding “inappropriate and controlling behaviour” towards one woman, The Telegraph reported.
Horner, who has led the Austrian team since its formation in 2005, was quizzed by an independent barrister in a private location late into the afternoon on Friday.
He forced a smile as he was picked up in a chauffeur-driven car from his North London home ahead of the critical hearing.
The probe has threatened to overshadow the start of the new F1 season — with the first practice sessions for the Bahrain Grand Prix taking place on February 29.
Horner has been boss of the team since January 2005 and present at all their F1 races, winning a total of 13 world titles.
On Wednesday, former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone denied reports that he encouraged Horner to quit after the allegations.
Ecclestone, who is close friends with Horner, labelled the reports as incorrect on his social media.
But F1 insiders do not “expect him to survive in his role”, according to BBC Sport.
The investigation also raises the question of who could take over the helm of the all-conquering racing team of Verstappen.
However, an F1 source told The Sun that “Christian has not been sacked or asked to resign and he is not going to resign”.
They also revealed the investigation is nowhere near it’s end – with it potentially dragging into the new F1 season.
The insider said: “This is not a trial and we are not going to have an answer and an outcome by the end of the day.
“This is not something that is going to be rectified that quickly.
“People are expecting this to be over before the start of the F1 season, but that just isn’t going to happen.”
Horner’s Spice Girl wife Geri, 51, is understood to be standing by her husband, who she married in 2015.
She has told pals: “Christian has done nothing wrong.”
And Horner is said to have privately vowed to his friends he will “clear his name and come through this,” a source told the Daily Mail.
However, the scandal engulfing her husband has blown a “Grand Canyon-sized crack” right in the middle of her “super-perfect, super-posh life,” another source claimed.
Horner has overseen a huge period of success for the racing team – winning multiple F1 championships with Sebastian Vettel and Verstappen.
Red Bull has won seven Formula One world drivers’ championships and six world constructors’ titles under Horner’s leadership.
Last season, the team won 21 of the 22 races on the global F1 tour, and Verstappen, 26, won the drivers’ crown.
Horner was awarded a CBE for services to motor sport in the 2024 New Year’s Honours List.
Ahead of the probe into Horner’s conduct, there were reports of an unrelated internal power struggle waging within Red Bull.
A look at Christian Horner's life and career
CHRISTIAN Horner is among the most well-known names in Formula One having helped build Red Bull into one of the biggest teams in the sport.
1973 – Born in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire
1991 – Wins a Formula Renault scholarship after impressing in karting races
1993-1997 – Competed in a host of competitions including British Formula Three, British Formula Two, and Formula 3000
1997 – Founded and developed the F3000 team Arden
1999 – Retired from driving and continued developing the Arden team
2005 – Appointed head of Red Bull team, becoming the youngest ever team principal at that time
2009 – Wins his first races as team principal with Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber
2010 – Wins the Constructors’ Championship and Drivers’ Championship with Vettel – the first of four doubles in a row
2013 – Has a daughter with ex-wife Beverly Allen shortly before the couple split
2014 – Gets engaged to Spice Girls member Geri Halliwell
2015 – Marries Halliwell in Woburn, Bedfordshire
2017 – Horner and Halliwell welcome their son
2021 – Wins another Drivers’ Championship with Max Verstappen, beating Lewis Hamilton on the final lap of the season
2022-23 – Red Bull win the Drivers’ Championship and Constructors’ Championship two years in a row