Christian Horner – latest: Ford speak out as Red Bull F1 boss still facing ‘inappropriate behaviour’ probe

Our latest on Horner allegations:

Christian Horner insists the support he has received from within Red Bull has been “overwhelming” as the Formula One boss broke his silence during the ongoing investigation into his conduct.

The Red Bull team principal also repeatedly denied the allegations of “inappropriate behaviour” made against him by a female colleague and insisted he was “confident” of clearing his name. He could give no timeframe on when the investigation will conclude.

Appearing publicly for the first time since the investigation was publicised – at Red Bull’s 2024 F1 car launch at their HQ in Milton Keynes – Horner added that he intends on being in Bahrain for pre-season testing next week.

While unable to comment on the nature of the investigation, Horner appeared composed and undeterred by the allegations, continually insisting it was “business as normal” at the world-championship winning team ahead of the new F1 season starting on 2 March.

Here’s some snaps of Horner at Thursday’s launch

At the end of his umpteenth media scrum on Red Bull’s launch day and celebration of 20 years in Formula 1, Christian Horner could not resist a customary quick-witted remark. Prodded and probed on the ongoing investigation into his conduct as team boss – he denies allegations from a female colleague of “inappropriate behaviour” – the unveiling of the RB20 car had fallen rapidly down the news agenda.

Horner, however, was keen to avert attention back to the machine likely to spearhead Max Verstappen’s charge to a fourth successive championship this year.

“Do you like the cooling on the car then?!” he said, as he slumbered from British journalists to Dutch journalists. In most years, Red Bull’s intriguing sidepod design would have been the focus. Not this year.

A very bullish and undeterred Horner was very much the man in the spotlight at Red Bull HQ on Thursday. The 50-year-old, fighting for his job as the longest-serving team principal on the F1 grid, was not quietly whisked away to the sideline as you may have anticipated. On the contrary, from the start of the launch featuring drivers, engineers and executives to the end of his 14^th interview of the day, Horner was completely front and centre in the rather unique setting of a gigantic warehouse for this highly thought-out event.

“I’m of course working with a new trainer but what is nice is he has been in F1 for a while so he knows what is needed,” said Verstappen.

“I think what is most important when you have a long season is managing your sickness because everyone gets sick once a year at least and you try to minimise that and you’re supposed to be on top of things. When you go to certain countries you know what you have to do to be careful not to get sick or whatever because your body is not used to it. Jet lag, travelling, so it’s really always about being well rested.

“It sounds a bit weird, but I’m not 18 any more, with 18 you can do whatever you want, even the day before, but slowly this is changing as well.

“I already started feeling that but I’m sure we’ll come up with good plans here and there with what we have to do.”

Horner insists he has the “overwhelming” support of Verstappen and Red Bull as a whole amidst allegations of “inappropriate behaviour” made against him by a female colleague. The Red Bull F1 boss repeatedly denied the accusations when questioned on Thursday.

While Horner and Verstappen refused to comment on the nature of the complaint, the team’s star driver insisted the morale of the team is “better than ever” heading into the new Formula 1 season despite the investigation.

There was a car launch happening somewhere… Here’s a clip of the car launch itself, amid all the noise surrounding the team principal:

Red Bull future engine supplier Ford Motor Co. said it is awaiting the results of an investigation into alleged inappropriate behaviour by team principal Christian Horner, but a top executive stressed that Ford holds its company and partners to very high moral standards.

Ford is slated to become Red Bull’s engine supplier in 2026 and is the first of Red Bull’s existing partners to comment on the controversy surrounding Horner. The team leader has remained defiant in his denial of claims of misconduct made to parent company Red Bull, which two weeks ago announced it had launched an independent investigation into the claims.

Mark Rushbrook, global head of Ford Performance Motorsport, said Friday at Daytona International Speedway that Ford is awaiting the outcome of the investigation into Horner.

“As a family company, and a company that holds itself to very high standards of behaviour and integrity, we do expect the same from our partners,” Rushbrook said. “It appears to us, and what we’ve been told, was that Red Bull is taking the situation very seriously. And of course, they’re worried about their brand, as well.

“And that’s why they’ve got an independent investigation and until we see what truth comes out of that, it’s too early for us to comment on it all.”

Netflix’s entrance into the sport with Drive to Survive in 2019 gave Horner the reach and standing for all his engrossing and incisive behind-closed-doors interactions to be aired to a whole new audience. Some love him, some loathe him.

Spats with team principals such as ex-Renault boss Cyril Abiteboul and current Mercedes CEO Toto Wolff have played out in front of the cameras. The melodrama of the 2021 season – between his protege Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton – saw Horner’s rivalry with Wolff almost match that of the drivers in the cockpit. The Red Bull boss is unashamedly a lover of the sport’s political plays and mind games.

Breaking the monopoly of Ferrari, McLaren and Renault, Red Bull stormed to four straight drivers’ titles from 2010-2013, with Sebastian Vettel in the cockpit. Horner was quickly making a name for himself with results on the track and influence off the track, gaining the trust and support of F1 supremo Ecclestone. So much so, in fact, that Horner served as best man at Ecclestone’s wedding to third wife Fabaina in 2012, and then vice-versa when Horner married Halliwell three years later. Their straight-talking similarities seemed to trump the 43-year age gap.

Season-by-season, Horner’s visibility became synonymous with the sport. Even in this current period of record-breaking schedules, he does not miss a race. Always keen to have his say, he rarely turns down an interview with either the print or broadcast press. One such moment, in Singapore in 2014, saw an exchange with Martin Brundle on the grid. Eulogising about F1’s original night race circuit, Horner quipped: “It’s a shame you’re too old to have driven here really.” Brundle, forever sharp-witted, quickly jibed back: “Shame you weren’t fast enough to get into Formula One!”

A promising karter in his teenage years, Horner raced for two years in the late 1990s for Arden in Formula 3000, then the final stage before a potential F1 seat. Yet one moment in a pre-season test, when unable to match Juan Pablo Montoya’s commitment into a high-speed corner, told him all he needed to know.

Montoya would go on to race in F1, Horner would not. Abruptly, he retired from racing at the age of 25 and opted to cross over to the management side of the Arden team.

It was there he built up his early reputation, winning junior titles. But despite his relative immaturity in a motorsport management ecosystem then dominated by elder statesmen of the sport – Bernie Ecclestone, Ron Dennis, Ross Brawn etc. – his sights were still firmly set on Formula One. Though talks with Eddie Jordan about a takeover fell through, at the age of 31 Horner became the youngest team principal on the grid when he was trusted with overseeing Red Bull’s entry into the sport, when the company’s co-founder Dietrich Mateschitz decided to venture into motorsport by purchasing Jaguar.