SAKHIR.- Will Christian Horner fall? An email that points to the head of the team Red Bull was sent on Thursday to more than a hundred people related to the Formula 1relaunching the case of the alleged “inappropriate behavior” of the leader, of which he had been declared innocent on Wednesday.
On Thursday afternoon, in the press room of the Sakhir circuit (Bahrain), just when the first free practices of the opening race of the season began, an anonymous ‘mail’ was sent to dozens of journalists, senior officials of the Formula 1, from the International Automobile Federation (FIA) and team leaders.
Its content: A link that took the recipients to alleged exchanges (messages, photos and videos), currently unverified, between the employee who had filed the complaint and Horner, supposedly coming from the investigation.
A day earlier, the 50-year-old leader, suspected of “inappropriate behavior” towards this woman – accusations rejected by Horner – had been declared innocent following an independent internal investigation carried out by Red Bull.
“I respected the integrity of the independent investigation and have collaborated fully in it at every stage. This is a thorough and fair investigation, carried out by an independent specialized lawyer whose conclusion is to reject the complaint presented,” said Horner, married to the former Spice Girl, Geri Halliwell.
Asked by AFP, the Red Bull team responded that it is “a private case between Horner and another person, so it would be inappropriate to comment on it.”
The conclusions of the investigation announced on Wednesday have not been enough to turn the page in this case that has shaken Red Bull, the current world champion, since the beginning of February. Several voices from the paddock have denounced its lack of transparency.
“I think we can’t really look beyond the curtain, but in the end there is a woman in an organization who spoke to human resources and said there was a problem, it was investigated and yesterday the sport received a message saying that everything was fine,” Mercedes director Toto Wolff told the press.
“I think that, according to the will of world sport in such a sensitive issue, more transparency is needed,” he added.
Red Bull wants to leave it behind:
The famous energy drink brand tried to turn the page on Wednesday with a brief statement: “The independent investigation into the allegations made against Horner has been completed and Red Bull can confirm that the complaint has been dismissed.”
“Red Bull is confident that the investigation has been fair, rigorous and impartial. The investigation report is confidential and contains private information of the parties and third parties who assisted in the investigation, therefore we will not be commenting further on it. about those involved,” he explained.
Zak Brown, head of McLaren, also believes that it is insufficient: “There will still be many speculations and questions that have been left unanswered after the process. And this is what those who run the sport need to be able to close the matter.”
Source: AFP
