Christian Horner ‘relieved’ after female colleague’s appeal over ‘inappropriate behaviour’ dismissed

The Red Bull team principal has been cleared of any wrongdoing for a second time by an independent KC

Christian Horner admits he is “relieved” that the appeal from a female colleague alleging “inappropriate behaviour” was dismissed in the F1 summer break.

Red Bull F1 chief executive and team principal Horner was originally cleared of any wrongdoing back in March, having been accused by a female member of staff of “coercive, inappropriate behaviour.”

Horner, 50, was exonerated on the eve of the opening race of the season in Bahrain before a deluge of sexually suggestive texts – allegedly between Horner and the complainant – were leaked to members of the paddock. The veracity of the texts have not been verified, since it came from an anonymous email address.

The complainant was then suspended on full pay before launching an appeal. But on 8 August, her appeal was thrown out following another investigation by a different independent KC – with Red Bull adding that their “internal process has concluded.”

Speaking at the Dutch Grand Prix on Friday, Horner told Sky Sports F1: “Obviously, it’s been a hugely thorough process and, of course, I was relieved with the appeal concluding and dismissing the claim.

"It is a private matter. I’m just relieved that the process [carried out by] the company now has been concluded. Our focus is very much on track.

"It’s very much, as it has been all season, focus on track, here at Max’s home race and looking forward to these last 10 races."

The saga cast a shadow over the sport and the world champions at the start of the season, unearthing tensions between Horner and Max Verstappen’s father Jos, who stated the team would be “torn apart” if Horner didn’t step down.

Yet Horner’s wife, Spice Girl pop star Geri Halliwell, stood by him and accompanied him at the first two races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, while Red Bull majority shareholder Chalerm Yoovidhya also backed the embattled team boss.

Christian Horner has been cleared of any wrongdoing (Getty Images)

Horner’s wife Geri Halliwell stood by him at the season-opening race in Bahrain (Getty Images)

And Verstappen, despite speculation all season, has a contract with Red Bull until the end of the 2028 season and has confirmed he will stay next year, ending talk of a move to replace Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes.

A full statement from Red Bull GmbH – Red Bull Racing’s parent company – on 8 August said: “Earlier this year a complaint raised against Christian Horner was investigated.

“That complaint was dealt with through the company’s grievance procedure by the appointment of an independent KC who dismissed the grievance.

“The complainant exercised the right to appeal, and the appeal was carried out by another independent KC.

“All stages of the appeal process have now been concluded, with the final outcome that the appeal is not upheld. The KC’s conclusions have been accepted and adopted by Red Bull. The internal process has concluded.

“The company respects the privacy of all its employees and will not be making further public comment on this matter at this time. Red Bull is committed to continuing to meet the highest workplace standards.”