The new season was announced on Thursday night after an email purporting to contain images of messages between Christian Horner and a female staff member who had filed a complaint against him was sent to media, team members and company executives. The opening of F1 was dramatically overshadowed. FIA is the governing body for F1 and the sport.
Sporting after an anonymous email was circulated in the paddock for the first race less than 24 hours after an investigation into allegations of inappropriate behavior against Horner resulted in the Red Bull team principal being acquitted and the complaint dismissed. was once again embroiled in speculation and conjecture. This season in Bahrain.
The email was sent in three separate parts to recipients from two different email addresses and included 79 images with Google Drive links, including one from Horner and Red Bull Racing’s parent company. It also included what was purported to be a message between a female employee and a Red Bull GmbH employee that triggered a complaint. Survey a few weeks ago.
Horner and Red Bull had hoped that the second practice session of the day in Bahrain would finally allow them to focus on racing, but soon after the session began at 6:22pm local time, their attention was firmly diverted from the time screens. It was done.
The image was sent to journalists from national media outlets, team principals, FIA and F1 management with the subject line ‘Christian Horner investigation evidence’, and the email started with ‘Following Red Bull’s recent investigation… , please see the attached statement for which you may wish to view.”
It does not indicate who sent the email and the authenticity of its contents cannot be proven.
Following the incident, Mr Horner strongly denied the allegations of inappropriate conduct against him and reiterated that an independent investigation conducted by a British barrister had found there was no case to answer.
“I do not comment on anonymous speculation,” he said. “However, again, I have always denied the allegations, respected the integrity of the independent investigation and cooperated fully at every step. This was thoroughly and fairly conducted by independent expert lawyers. An investigation was conducted and we have concluded that the charges will be dismissed. I remain fully focused on the start of the season.”
The results of the investigation were announced by Red Bull on Wednesday, and the company issued a short statement saying the complaint had been dismissed, but said it would not disclose any details of the complaint, any materials or evidence reviewed in the investigation, or the findings. It was created to protect the confidentiality of those involved.
The investigation lasted several weeks and reportedly produced a 600-page report. Horner has been under intense scrutiny since the matter was made public on February 5, during which time he has repeatedly and strongly denied any wrongdoing. The decision not to release any information caused an uproar in the paddock, with Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff demanding transparency from the company and other senior officials within F1, saying that the decision to not release any information has left the sport’s reputation in doubt. He said that he believes it is necessary to ensure transparency after such a high-profile incident. Required to confirm that the issue was handled correctly.
Before the leaked emails were discovered, Wolff had insisted that the investigation should be made public as it reflected on F1 as a whole, but he said he could not close the case without disclosing any details or process. He made it clear that he did not think it was satisfactory.
“A woman from one organization spoke to human resources and said there was an issue, an investigation was conducted and yesterday the sports community received a message saying there was no issue and it had been looked into,” he said. “With our aspirations as a global sport, I believe there needs to be more transparency on important topics like this, but I wonder where the sport stands. ”
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McLaren team principal Zac Brown agreed, saying F1 and governing body the FIA should have access to the findings to draw their own conclusions to avoid damaging the sport’s reputation. insisted.
“Sanctioning bodies have a responsibility and authority over our sport and our fans,” he said. “They need to make sure that things are completely transparent. They need to be thoroughly and completely transparent and come to the same conclusion that Red Bull has come to and agree with the outcome of the process. Until then, speculation will continue as there are many unanswered questions about the whole thing.”
As pressure mounts on Red Bull to share information, Wolff warned F1 has an obligation to prove its commitment to ethical behavior.
“As a sport, we can’t afford to be vague and opaque about such an important topic, because this will push us out,” he said.
F1 and the FIA have not yet commented on the outcome of the investigation or the process itself, as it is understood that neither party has been informed of the information that will emerge from the investigation.
Earlier in the day, Horner had expressed a desire to forget the events of the previous week and return to running the team.
The parent company’s statement did not say whether Horner would remain team principal and CEO of Red Bull Racing, leading to some speculation about his future role within the team. Although he has not spoken publicly in Bahrain, where he was on the pit wall overseeing the team’s first practice session of the new season, he was clear when asked about his future.
“It’s great to be here. I’m not going anywhere,” he said. “It’s an honor to lead this team and I’m happy to be here defending my world title.”
