Red Bull does give you wings: Despite investigation, Christian Horner is in driver’s seat
Formula 1 season began this week and there was Christian Horner, the head of Red Bull Racing, still leading his team as it begins its bid for a fourth consecutive championship.
Horner was also front and center a week ago at Red Bull's launch of its 2024 car — a virtual highlight reel of the success Horner has built since he became team principal in 2005. Make no mistake, the longest-tenured team leader in the F1 paddock knows how to win: Red Bull has won six constructors' championships and seven drivers' championships under Horner.
But as he continues with «business as normal» — Horner's own words at the launch last week — nobody else can figure out how he has remained on the job during an internal investigation into allegations of inappropriate conduct that parent company Red Bull announced on Feb. 5.
More than two weeks later, the motorsports community is engrossed in daily rumors and speculation about what Horner has been accused of doing by a team employee. There has been silence out of Austria since the investigation was announced and a defiant Horner has stated he will be part of the team when the F1 season begins next weekend in Bahrain.
For all the courting of American fans and deals with U.S. corporations done by F1 and owner Liberty Media, the handling of this Horner mess is utterly bizarre. F1 and governing body FIA have both issued statements urging a quick resolution to the investigation — statements that came only after the gossip surrounding Horner had reached tabloid levels — but neither entity
