Christian Horner holds emergency Red Bull 'crunch talks' with private agreement made

Christian Horner holds emergency Red Bull 'crunch talks' with private agreement made

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Stuart Ballard

By Stuart Ballard


Published: 17/03/2024

- 11:27

Red Bull are hoping to move on from the Christian Horner saga that has embroiled the team this season.

Christian Horner, Jos Verstappen and Helmut Marko have reportedly agreed to a 'public ceasefire' in an attempt to get Red Bull firing on all cylinders behind the scenes.

The reigning constructors' champions have dominated the opening two races of the season with one-two finishes in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.


But while on-track performances have gone smoothly, it's been far from plain sailing off of it.

Horner was the subject of a three-week investigation at Red Bull after being accused of 'inappropriate behaviour' by a female employee.

The 50-year-old was eventually cleared having strenuously denied the allegations, however that hasn't been the end of it with the saga taking several more twists.

Jos Verstappen called for Christian Horner to step down

Jos Verstappen called for Christian Horner to step down

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Evidence purporting to be from the investigation was leaked the same week Horner was cleared of any wrongdoing while Verstappen Snr called the Red Bull boss' position 'untenable'.

The female employee, who is said to have a close friendship with Verstappen Snr, was suspended last week and she's since lodged an appeal to the findings of the investigation.

Horner's wishes of moving on from the ordeal don't appear to be coming true.

However, Red Bull are reportedly trying to mend bridges behind the scenes.

The Mirror points out the power struggle that has been ongoing around Horner's future with Marko said to be lending his support to the Verstappen camp over the Red Bull team principal.

But the report points out that crunch talks took place this week to try and reach 'uneasy truce'.

The trio of Verstappen Snr, Horner and Marko are now said to have 'agreed to a public ceasefire'.

Red Bull will now be hoping for a united front going forward in their bid to continue their strong start on track.

But Horner still doesn't appear to be in the clear as the female employee, who has since been suspended by Red Bull, is said to have changed lawyers and 'plans to appeal' the result of the investigation.

It's also been claimed that the woman in question has lodged an official complaint with the FIA's ethics committees regarding Horner's alleged behaviour.

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff has taken aim at Red Bull for how they've handled the whole process.

Red Bull want to move on from the ordeal

Red Bull want to move on from the ordeal

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He feels the 'most important story' has not been discussed and believes it has been 'confusing'.

"From the outside, we're treated to a lot of drama. But for a team like Red Bull, a situation like this isn't great," Wolff said.

"Not saying everything only makes it more interesting, leading to more questions, more stories, more speculation.

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Christian Horner and Helmut Marko haven't always seen eye-to-eye

Christian Horner and Helmut Marko haven't always seen eye-to-eye

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"But there is a real story in the background, and it's the most important one - why did a woman who felt uncomfortable go to HR? Why hasn't anything talked about this yet?

"There's also an information strategy that looks a bit confusing from the outside.

"Generally, I think the Austrians are professional while in England they try to keep everything small, but that's no longer possible these days."

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