Red Bull team principal, Christian Horner was embroiled in controversy earlier this year when a female employee lodged an internal complaint against him for “inappropriate behavior”. After almost a month-long investigation, grievances against Horner were dropped by an ‘independent’ barrister. Now, it turns out that the barrister in question was not independent and has deep ties with the Thai-half of Red Bull’s hierarchy.
Business F1 Magazine (as quoted by Formula Passion) reports that the attorney who cleared the Briton was none other than the Yoovidhya family’s lawyer. The Yoovidhyas are 51% owners of Red Bull GmbH, and have supported Christian Horner throughout this scandal. Having a lawyer with Thai backing would definitely have been be a huge advantage for Horner. The report revealed, “Obviously the lawyer was not independent, but he carried out their instructions. How do I know? I was told he is their lawyer.”
This sensational report published by Business F1 also revealed that the attorney was under strict instructions from the Thai owners of Red Bull to prepare a report, acquitting Horner from the accusations. What’s more, the verdict was first sent to the Thai owners and not to Oliver Mintzlaff (CEO) and Mark Mateschitz, the Austrian owner of Red Bull.
The entire F1 world went into a frenzy when the allegations against Horner first surfaced. The 50-year-old, who is married to ex-Spice Girl, Geri Halliwell was a very prominent figure in the F1 paddock. And the allegations were then directly linked to a rumored power struggle within the team; with Christian Horner on one side and Helmut Marko on the other.
For now, externally, things seem to be calm within the team. Behind the scenes, however, unrest and turmoil continue to rage, following the employee’s alleged suspension from the outfit.
Where is the employee who complained about Christian Horner?
Earlier this year, it was reported that the Briton had offered a sum of around $800,000 to the unnamed employee who had filed the complaint against him. Reports suggested that the team even raised the amount to a $1 million after the initial offer was rejected. The employee did not accept this offer, and things went from bad to worse for Christian Horner from a public point of view.
Soon, the employee in question faced suspension at Red Bull, which enraged the general public. When Motorsport.com approached a spokesperson of the team for confirmation, they replied, “We are unable to comment as it is an internal matter.”
Now the employee has taken this matter to the FIA, the governing body of F1. As per Motorsport, the FIA is now in the process of evaluating the complaint to see if further action on their end in necessitated or not.
