Horner confident of Red Bull stay amid inquiry ‘distraction’

Christian Horner is confident he will remain Red Bull team boss despite an ongoing investigation into allegations of inappropriate behavior, which he has called a “distraction” as the new Formula 1 season approaches.

Horner, who was accused by an F1 team employee of controlling behavior, has vigorously denied the allegations against him.

The Briton, boss of the team since joining F1 in 2005, was heard on February 9, although there is no time frame for when a decision on his future will be made.

It was widely speculated that Horner would lose his job as a result of the investigation.

Asked at the Red Bull 2024 car launch, the first time he has faced the media since the story broke, if he is confident he will still be the team boss in the new season and beyond that, it was unequivocal.

“Yeah, absolutely,” Horner told ESPN. “Obviously there's a process going on. I'm very focused on the upcoming season.”

Red Bull has won all but one race in 2023, the most dominant season ever by a team. But Horner's situation leaves a shadow hanging over the team as the new season approaches, which begins on March 2 with the Bahrain Grand Prix.

“Inevitably there was a distraction, but the team is very united,” he added during a wider media session. “Everyone is focused on the season ahead, so it's been business as usual. The support has been fantastic.”

He added: “I'm very focused on the season ahead. It's great to see the new car launched today and I look forward to seeing it running in Bahrain next week. It's business as usual.”

“I think everyone wants to come to a conclusion, but there is a process that has to be respected, that is absolutely right, and in time it will be completed.”

Red Bull has won two consecutive constructors' championships, while driver Max Verstappen has won three consecutive drivers' titles – both team and driver are heavy favorites to defend their crown in 2024.

Horner oversaw Red Bull's entire history, which included another string of consecutive championships between 2010 and 2013.

He was hired by Red Bull founder Dietrich Mateschitz, who died in October 2022. Sources told ESPN that his death left something of a power vacuum at the highest levels of the company.

Many reports on Horner's situation suggest that there are moves above his head within the Red Bull company as a whole to oust him from power.

It was the Red Bull brand, and not the F1 team, which was the first to launch the investigation.

Horner dismissed the suggestion, saying: “We are very united. We have always had enormous support from shareholders since Dietrich passed away. Shareholders have been incredibly supportive and you can see the level of investment on the campus here with the powertrains, with the future of Formula 1, that we are one team.”

He then reiterated that it is business as usual for Red Bull heading into the new season.