Horner under “Internal Investigation” at RBR for allegedly “Crossing Personal Borders.”
This should be interesting……..
This should be interesting……..
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2024 Formula 1 Season thread
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Just read about it here https://www.gpfans.com/en/f1-news/1012599/christian-horner-inappropriate-behaviour-red-bull-f1/
Would seem he has been accused of inappropriate behavior towards an employee. Considering how instrumental he has been to the team it will be interesting to see how and where this investigation goes.
Possibly, that’s always been a stumbling block for some British engineers when Ferrari have tried to poach them. Adrian Newey has turned down offers for years over him and his wife not wanting to move to Italy, although recent rumours suggest he may finally consider it, but I don’t think he will this late in his career. The bonus of working in F1 for British engineers/designers is the fact so many of the teams are within 70 miles of each other.
The story about Christian Horner being under investigation at Red Bull is rather interesting. It’s obviously serious enough for it to be publicly reported but no details as to what it concerns.
The alleged allegation from F1-Insider is "sent photos to a female employee." This is alleged to have taken place during the Hanenkamm Ski Race in Kitzbuhel. Apparently a gathering of F1 Team Boss' including Toto, and Zak.
The internal investigation apparently has been going on for a while. Perhaps the alleged target was not happy with the pace of it, and leaked it. Seems plausible.
He’s a dead man. Ginger Spice will kill him!
The pace is set by ACAS in the UK for grievances and is usually done with a few weeks. The code is set out for companies to follow to the minimum along with their own policies. That’s the good thing here, companies can’t string you out and get rid of you if you rock the boat without serious financial consequences. A lot of fans on the threads across the internet suggesting Red Bull won’t get rid of Horner and should just get rid of the complainant, but clearly have no idea how HR processes are handled in the UK. If those accusations are true, this is serious and will perhaps be settled financially. It’ll be a significant PR repair job for Red Bull too. Awkward for Christian too if the lady decides to continue working for the company.
Indeed! Especially as she pursued him for years and broke up his relationship with his ex who had recently given birth to his baby at the time. Not a nice woman but the lifestyle and exposure was there, much like the revelations in the Robbie Williams documentary. He’ll be rinsed if this turns out to be true.
I suppose I should not be surprised that other teams have followed Red Bull for their 2024 designs. HAAS and Stake have both adopted similar front suspension geometry with heavy anti-dive emphasis along with similar sidepod designs and sculpting for aerodynamics and increased cooling capacity in the roll structure to compensate.
Well this has been an interesting week.
Suggesting is that Red Bull has taken the investigation from Red Bull Racing. It’s good that an investigation is performed, we’ll just have to wait the outcome.
I do wonder what it is. It sounds serious but then I wonder why the authorities aren’t involved.
Suggesting is that Red Bull has taken the investigation from Red Bull Racing. It’s good that an investigation is performed, we’ll just have to wait the outcome.
I do wonder what it is. It sounds serious but then I wonder why the authorities aren’t involved.
As long as it results in closer racing I’m all for it.
Kick Sauber C44
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Apologies, work comp isn't cooperating.
Apologies, work comp isn't cooperating.
A few rumours circulating suggest Adrian Newey maybe going to Ferrari for 2025/6 and these have been doing the rounds since before the Hamilton announcement. Total speculation, but could this have been the selling point that convinced Lewis to make the switch? Similar to when Ross Brawn assured him the Mercedes V6 hybrid was the best engine for 2014 and he knew something the rest of us didn't.
Newey signed a new "long term" contract with Red Bull just before the Miami GP last year and Ferrari has failed to poach both Red Bull's Head Aerodynamics and their Technical Director so color me skeptical he would leave for Ferrari.
That being said, I have seen reports that both Horner and Newey have written into their contracts that if either of them leave Red Bull, the other is free to do so, as well. So if Horner is sacked, that could free up Newey.
That being said, I have seen reports that both Horner and Newey have written into their contracts that if either of them leave Red Bull, the other is free to do so, as well. So if Horner is sacked, that could free up Newey.
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Newey has always been clear he wasn't interested in moving to Italy because he wanted to be around his children and grandchildren etc, and his wife wanted to remain in England. To do such a technical role you need to be regularly at the factory where the cars are developed, which is why John Bernard never suceeded at Maranello when he was designing their race cars. Not sure how true, but Newey was asked about a new challenge at Ferrari and he didn't shoot the idea down like he had previously. If Christian does leave Red Bull and their contracts have that clause, it could be an option. It depends whether Adrian wants the challenge this late in life as he's in his 60's now. There is the option to work with the most successful F1 driver in history though and it would be a very worthwhile role financially I would imagine.
Total rumours and speculation, but Newey has been at Red Bull for 18 years now which is his longest stint by a long way. I'd rather he went back to McLaren or Mercedes personally to work with Lando or George.
Could be a 'tickbox' exercise which some have claimed Lewis has done with his move to Ferrari, ticking off that box to say they have worked with Ferrari before their careers in F1 come to an end.
If Newey goes to Ferrari I don’t think he’s going to have an overnight success.
Would Lewis benefit from a 2-5 year project?
But I don’t think Horner will be sacked and I don’t think Adrian will move.
Would Lewis benefit from a 2-5 year project?
But I don’t think Horner will be sacked and I don’t think Adrian will move.
Horner's job is purely dependant on the seriousness of the allegation against him AND the level at which is distracts the public and the media from the team because we have seen with other people in sports who have been accused of something, they have resigned because it means there is no longer anymore distraction placed upon the team/club/sport they were in.
A most recent classic example is that of Mason Greenwood and Manchester United. At every press conference and interview, the manager was asked about Greenwood and the clubs standing on the rape allegations against him. No longer were the media interested in the game of football, all they were interested in was finding out more juicy details about Greenwood and what the clubs hierarchy was going to do about him. The clubs manager got frustrated a number times during post match interviews because instead of reporters asking about the game(s), they kept asking about the situation with Greenwood and what was the club going to do about him.
If that level of distraction is placed on Horner I can see him being asked to resign because the team's hierarchy will not want post race interviews and other interviews to be about Horner and the allegations against him.
This is becoming more interesting….
Strong rumors that RBR has lost confidence in Horner, and Johnathan Wheatley to take over on an interim basis……..
With Horner and Red Bull, there is also the way this whole story was leaked. This should have been a purely confidential process but somebody has leaked it. I doubt it’s the complainant as that would affect the outcome and any settlement she might get. There has been rumours there could be an internal power struggle with Dietrich’s son wanting more of a controlling influence within the F1 operation. Could this have been leaked at a high level to discredit Horner publicly?
I don’t think we’ll see Horner at the opening races at the least just to quell some of the PR pressure on the team. I think he’ll come out of this with his job to be honest, and there will be an NDA where it won’t be discussed further. Either that or he’ll leave on his terms, but he has a financial interest in the company, so it’s not as easy as just walking away.
F1 has released changes to the 2024 Sprint Format:
- Friday Morning: Free Practice 1
- Friday Afternoon: Sprint Qualifying
- Saturday Morning: Sprint Race
- Saturday Afternoon: Grand Prix Qualifying
- Sunday : Grand Prix event
Oh grand prix qualifying after they wrecked the cars
I’ll give it a shot, well I have no choice 🤣 but I like the qualifying on Friday. Sprint on Saturday and Race on Sunday. Made a nice weekend from it. Especially when there in person.