Christian Horner has been pictured for the first time since he was cleared of ‘coercive behaviour’ towards a female colleague on Wednesday.
The Red Bull chief – who earns £8m a year – was the subject of an internal investigation after the accusations which first surfaced publicly on February 5.
Horner, wife of former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell, denied all allegations and made his case to a KC, who was tasked as the internal investigator by the team who are the reigning world champions.
On Wednesday, news broke that the 50-year-old had been cleared of the allegations and would continue in his role.
And on Thursday, he was spotted out and about in Bahrain ahead of the first practice session at the season-opening Grand Prix.
Red Bull chief Christian Horner has been pictured for the first time since he was cleared of allegations of ‘coercive behaviour’ towards a female colleague on Wednesday afternoon
The allegations, which first broke on February 5, have dominated F1 over the past month
Horner, 50, is married to former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell, and found out on Wednesday afternoon he had been cleared and that would keep his £8million-a-year job leading Red Bull
Horner was pictured out for breakfast ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix’s first practice session
Horner was seen alongside Red Bull lead designer Adrian Newey at breakfast and looked to be in good spirits in the Bahrain sunshine.
The news that Horner would keep his job electrified a cool, dusk paddock in Bahrain on Wednesday.
Horner, 50, had repeatedly insisted he was going nowhere throughout the investigation.
He was greeted by the findings as he touched down in the Gulf Kingdom, with a statement from the world champion team’s parent company Red Bull GmbH in Salzburg saying: ‘The independent investigation into the allegations made against Mr Horner is complete, and Red Bull can confirm that the grievance has been dismissed.
‘The complainant has a right of appeal. Red Bull is confident that the investigation has been fair, rigorous and impartial.
‘The investigation report is confidential and contains the private information of the parties and third parties who assisted in the investigation, and, therefore, we will not be commenting further out of respect for all concerned. Red Bull will continue striving to meet the highest workplace standards.’
The exact nature of the complaints remain unknown.
Horner was questioned by a KC for a full day at a secret location last month as the barrister gathered evidence that he wrote up in 150 pages for the Red Bull board’s determination over the last few days.
The allegations were made by a close colleague, with Red Bull GmbH in Salzburg, confirming an internal investigation on February 5.
Horner was awaiting their adjudication as he took his private jet on the 3,000-mile trip from the UK to Bahrain for the opening race of the season this Saturday.
Horner was awaiting their adjudication as he took his private jet on the 3,000-mile trip from the UK to Bahrain for the opening race of the season this Saturday.
He was said to be in good spirits as the day developed, hoping his name would be cleared on landing in the Gulf kingdom on Wednesday afternoon. He did not turn up at the paddock.
Former popstar Geri, mother of their seven-year-old son Monty, has stood resolutely by him throughout the ordeal. She is said to be ‘devastated’ by the jolt to their lives, which they split between their farmhouse (and stables) in Oxfordshire and a home in North London.
Horner has won 13 world championships since heading the team as a 31-year-old in 2005. He was then the youngest team principal on the grid, yet is now its longest-serving.
He attended pre-season testing in Bahrain last week before returning home, his position seemingly growing stronger as the days progressed.
But he appeared to be up against forces ranged against him within the organisation, notwithstanding the veracity of the accusations.
Ford, who are entering an engine partnership with Red Bull from 2026, led calls for a swift conclusion to the saga. In a letter written last Friday, chief executive Jim Farley expressed his displeasure at the ‘unresolved allegations of inappropriate behaviour by Red Bull Racing leadership’.
Those calls for clarity at the earliest moment were echoed by F1’s American owners, Liberty Media.
Horner was later pictured arriving at the Paddock ahead of the first practice session starting
Throughout the probe, he had maintained his innocence and insisted he was going nowhere
Horner’s position was also undermined, it seemed, by the death of the energy drinks mogul who gave him his big break 19 years ago at the helm of the new Red Bull team. Dietrich Mateschitz died in 2022 of cancer, a tragedy that inevitably shook up the management structure, leaving executives jostling for position. One key mover is believed to have been Oliver Mintzlaff, the managing director and former CEO of RB Leipzig, who, it is said, resented Horner’s powerbase.
Horner, however, retained the support of Red Bull’s Thai faction, headed by Chalerm Yoovidhya, son of the firm’s co-founder Chaleo. Chalerm, as an heir to the company fortune with a 51 per cent stake in it, is estimated to be worth £30billion. He turned up intermittently at races and could be seen in long and friendly chats with the Englishman, including when Verstappen clinched the third of his consecutive world titles in Qatar last October.
Another significant voice was that of Dr Helmut Marko, Red Bull’s 80-year-old motorsport adviser – an Austrian believed to be more in line with Mintzlaff than Horner.
‘Marko was given a contract renewal last year, but he saw his money halved,’ said one well-placed F1 figure. ‘There is the notion that he wanted his revenge on Horner, and wanted him out.’