Dark
Light
Dark
Light
Horner Red Bull Allegations Unity

Horner Firm on Red Bull Role Amid Controversy

02/03/2024

Despite facing allegations, Christian Horner remains confident in leading Red Bull into the Saudi Arabian F1 Grand Prix, highlighting team unity and determination.

Christian Horner dismissed the question of losing his job by insisting that he would still be the boss of Red Bull at next week’s Saudi Arabian F1 Grand Prix.

Horner managed to oversee a Red Bull one-two at the Bahrain Grand Prix this Saturday, with Max Verstappen winning and Sergio Perez in second place.

However, the season’s opening round was overshadowed by the situation concerning the Red Bull team director.

Despite being cleared by Red Bull’s parent company following complaints made against him by a colleague, an anonymous email later leaked alleged evidence to almost 150 people in the F1 paddock. Unauthenticated evidence that has since widely spread on social media.

Horner continues to deny the allegations against him.

Asked whether he is confident of having Red Bull’s full support and if he will lead his team in Jeddah next weekend, Horner replied, “Yes, absolutely. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be here.”

He was seen alongside Chalerm Yoovidhya (photo), the majority shareholder of Red Bull, who is believed to be one of his main allies.

When asked if Red Bull remains united off the track, Horner responded, “Yes, absolutely.”

“We are a very strong team with great support. We also have excellent partners and shareholders behind us.”

“You don’t get this kind of result without being united.”

On the track, the Bahrain Grand Prix was a dream start for Red Bull.

“The perfect start. A race of domination.”

“I have to say thank you to all the men and women in Milton Keynes who worked so hard this winter and designed another superb car. It’s a testament to the hard work being done behind the scenes. It was a fantastic team performance to finish with this one-two and the maximum points today.”

The RB20 shocked F1 when, at its unveiling, it became clear it followed a new and bold concept.

“You can see it’s an aggressive evolution. The design team – the whole team – did a wonderful job, really wonderful. They didn’t rest on their laurels. They pushed hard, they pushed the boundaries. You can see there are a lot of innovative ideas on the car. It has the basics of the RB19 in its DNA but it’s a strong evolution.”

Red Bull Targets Perfect Season Victory

Last year, Red Bull broke records by winning all but one Grand Prix. Asked if they could improve by winning 100% of the races in 2024.

“It’s a good start but it’s a unique layout, in terms of circuit and surface. It was very cool temperature-wise. Next week, it’s a street circuit, with a much higher temperature. I think we need to see three, four, five races before we see a real pattern.”

“What we’ve seen in testing is that the field has converged. The gaps at the finish are smaller than last year, almost half as much. So, we can’t rely too much on this single race to predict domination.”

“We used very soft tires for this race, which also disrupted the last stint. We are surprised that others did not do it. It was an excellent performance from Max and Checo.”

For the Mexican, it was the perfect result to convince Red Bull to keep him for 2025.

“He needs to continue to drive as he did today,” Horner said.

“He started fifth, he moved up, he made some good overtakes. He had a solid race. A one-two is the best result you can get as a team. It’s not easy to achieve.”

Horner Red Bull Allegations Unity. Horner Red Bull Allegations Unity

Newsletter

Go toTop