A magazine publishes an explosive story that meticulously documents the affair surrounding Christian Horner - who was almost fired by Red Bull.
(Motorsport-Total.com) - The affair surrounding Christian Horner, the team boss of Red Bull Racing, is not coming to an end. After a highly explosive data leak became known , which was leaked to hundreds of people in the Formula 1 paddock on the sidelines of the season opener in Bahrain, a story that contains new explosive material is now appearing in the March issue of the industry magazine BusinessF1 .
On 17 pages, the Horner affair is detailed in detail and, among other things, the name of the employee who made the allegations against Horner is mentioned for the first time. It is told how the woman collapsed on the sidelines of a racing weekend and, crying, told colleagues for the first time about her boss's transgressive behavior.
Many of the details of the story weigh heavily on Horner. If they are true, it is hard to imagine that the 50-year-old will survive the affair as team boss of Red Bull Racing. However, it is important to note: As of today, many of the details are difficult to clearly verify, which is why our editorial team is refraining from publishing them.
What can be verified, however, is an exciting sub-strand of the story that casts Red Bull GmbH's handling of the Horner affair in a completely new light. As is well known, Formula 1 team bosses such as Toto Wolff and Zak Brown in Bahrain had publicly criticized the non-transparent handling of the matter .
It was on the morning of February 2nd, just one day after the announcement of Lewis Hamilton's move to Ferrari, that the next earthquake began to emerge in Formula 1. The decision-making level at Red Bull GmbH in Fuschl had already become aware of the allegations made by Horner's personal assistant weeks ago, discussed them intensively - and came to the conclusion that morning that Horner's behavior was impossible to reconcile with the company's code of conduct is.
Horner out: press release was ready to send
So Red Bull CEO Oliver Mintzlaff decided after internal consultations that he wanted to terminate Horner. According to BusinessF1, an official press release had already been prepared. The wording is said to have been: "Red Bull GmbH confirms that Christian Horner has left Red Bull Racing with immediate effect. Red Bull GmbH will make no further comment on the matter."
According to information from Motorsport-Total.com , Fuschl planned to allow Horner to leave without loss of face and without lasting damage to his private life and his marriage to "Spice Girl" Geri Halliwell. In the second step, one could have communicated in interviews, for example, an end to the collaboration "for health reasons".
But Horner did not want to accept the termination and now called in his lawyers, who intervened at Red Bull in Fuschl before the press release could be sent out. Horner therefore insisted on an arbitration clause in his contract, which would give him the right to an independent investigation in the event of such allegations.
Mintzlaff and his team now found themselves in a difficult situation. The decision to terminate Horner had actually already been made, at least for Fuschl. However, Horner's lawyers threatened to file an injunction with the High Court in London if the move was actually carried out.
Mintzlaff reportedly "appalled" by Horner's behavior
BusinessF1 writes: "The matter had already lasted nine weeks [...], and Mintzlaff concluded that two more weeks would make no difference. He was certain that an arbitrator would rule against Horner because the evidence was overwhelming spoke against him. Mintzlaff believed that Red Bull GmbH would not be able to keep Horner after what he had seen and read. Secretly he was appalled by Horner's behavior."
So Mintzlaff is said to have decided not to initiate the necessary formalities for termination (which also includes coordination with the Thai majority owners) immediately, but to wait for the result of the independent investigation. In Fuschl it was believed that this would delay the ultimate end of the collaboration with Horner, but would no longer prevent it.
The role of the Yoovidhya clan
But then the Thai Yoovidhya clan, majority owners of Red Bull GmbH, are said to have placed their protective hand over Horner. On February 28, the results of the Horner investigation were presented in a brief press release - and to the surprise of many who had seen the evidence, Horner was exonerated.
To this day, there are doubts about the independence of the investigation, and BusinessF1 's story lists numerous details that support these suspicions. Also in relation to who ultimately hired the lawyer. And, bizarre detail: After Horner was questioned, he is said to have gone on vacation for two weeks and was unavailable.
This in turn apparently annoyed people, not named by BusinessF1 , who had become aware of the matter. They decided to take matters into their own hands and began leaking information to the media. The ball then started rolling, which is now known as the Horner affair."
An affair in which the final chapter has most likely not yet been written.
- Christian Nimmervoll
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