SAKHIR.- The head of Red BullChristian Horner, said Thursday that he hopes the investigation into his alleged workplace misconduct will be resolved “as soon as possible,” when the new season of the Formula 1 is about to begin.
The parent company of the Red Bull team indicated on February 5 that it began an investigation into allegations of abuse against an employee. Horner denied any wrongdoing and has continued to work. They did not publicly give a date for the investigation to conclude.
“We would all like a conclusion as soon as possible, but I’m not really at liberty to comment on the process,” Horner said during the second of three days of pre-season testing in Bahrain. The first race is next weekend.
F1 and the FIA, motorsport’s governing body, previously published statements urging a quick resolution to the investigation. McLaren boss Zak Brown indicated on Thursday that he hoped the investigation would be “handled transparently” after Mercedes boss Toto Wolff called for transparency a day earlier.
On the track, Carlos Sainz Jr. led the way with Ferrari with the fastest time by .758 seconds over the Red Bull of Mexican Sergio Pérez. Lewis Hamilton was third fastest for Mercedes. Hamilton drove a Mercedes in an official F1 event for the first time since he announced he would be leaving for Ferrari at the end of the campaign. He will replace Sainz in the Italian team.
Teams can only have one driver per session and defending champion Max Verstappen, who posted the fastest time on Wednesday, was not with Red Bull on Thursday.
Problems in Formula 1 testing:
The morning session was shortened after Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton ran over a loose drain cover. This led to debris falling on the circuit and a detailed inspection of the track having to be carried out.
The shortened session left Perez with less track time, so Red Bull changed its plans and decided to give him the vehicle for the afternoon session.
But his session was interrupted again when his car suffered a technical failure and he had to head to the pits in first gear, although he was quickly back.
Friday will be the third and final day of testing before the season kicks off with the Bahrain Grand Prix next weekend.
Source: AP
