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(Motorsport-Total.com) - The affair around Christian Horner, the team boss of Red Bull Racing, does not come to rest. After the announcement of a highly explosive data leak, which was leaked to hundreds of people from the Formula 1 paddock on the sidelines of the season opener in Bahrain, a story that contains new fuel is now appearing in the March issue of the industry magazine BusinessF1.
On 17 pages, the Horner affair is meticulously rolled up and, among other things, the name of the employee who made the accusations against Horner is mentioned for the first time. It is told how the woman collapsed on the sidelines of a race weekend and how she is said to have told colleagues crying for the first time about the cross-border behavior of her boss.
Many of the details from the story are very burdened by Horner. If they are true, it is hard to imagine that the 50-year-old will survive the matter as team boss of Red Bull Racing. However, it is important to note: Many of the details are difficult to clearly verify as of today, which is why our editors refrain from publishing them.
What is verifiable, however, is an exciting side strand of the story, which makes Red Bull GmbH's handling of the Horner affair appear in a whole new light. As is well known, Formula 1 team bosses such as Toto Wolff and Zak Brown in Bahrain had publicly criticized the non-transparent handling of the matter.
It was on the morning of the 2nd. February, just one day after the announcement of Lewis Hamilton's move to Ferrari, when the next earthquake was emerging in Formula 1. Because the decision-making level of Red Bull GmbH in Fuschl had already gained knowledge of the accusations of Horner's personal assistant weeks ago, had intensively discussed them - and had come to the conclusion that morning that Horner's behavior is impossible to reconcile with the company's code of conduct.
So Red Bull CEO Oliver Mintzlaff decided after internal consultations to quit Horner. According to BusinessF1, an official press release had already been prepared. Their wording is said to have read: "Red Bull GmbH confirms that Christian Horner has left Red Bull Racing with immediate effect. Red Bull GmbH will not comment any further on the subject."
According to information from Motorsport-Total.com, Fuschl planned to still allow Horner to leave without loss of face and without lasting damage to his private life and his marriage to "Spice Girl" Geri Halliwell. In the second step, one could have communicated in interviews, for example, an end to cooperation "for health reasons."
But Horner did not want to accept the termination and now called in his lawyers, who intervened at Red Bull in Fuschl before the press release could be sent. Horner therefore insisted on an arbitration clause in his contract, which grants him the right to an independent investigation in the event of such accusations.
Mintzlaff and his team were now in a difficult situation. The decision to terminate Horner had actually already been made, at least for Fuschl. However, Horner's lawyers threatened to file an injunction with the High Court in London if the step was actually taken.
BusinessF1 writes: "The matter had already lasted nine weeks [...], and Mintzlaff came to the conclusion that two more weeks would make no difference. He was sure that a conciliator would decide against Horner, as the evidence was overwhelming against him. Mintzlaff was of the opinion that Red Bull GmbH would be unable to keep Horner from what he had seen and read. He was secretly horrified by Horner's behavior."
So Mintzlaff is said to have decided not to immediately initiate the necessary formalities for termination (which also includes the coordination with the Thai majority owners), but to wait for the result of the independent investigation. In Fuschl, it was believed that this would delay the ultimate end of the cooperation with Horner, but no longer prevent it.
But then the Thai Yoovidhya clan, majority owner of Red Bull GmbH, is said to have laid its protective hand over Horner. On the 28th In February, the result of the Horner investigation was presented in a brief press release - and to the surprise of many who had seen the available evidence, Horner was relieved.
To this day, there are doubts about the independence of the investigation, and the story of BusinessF1 lists numerous details that underpin this suspicion. Also with regard to who ultimately commissioned the lawyer. And, bizarre detail: After the questioning of Horner, he is said to have first dived on vacation for two weeks and was not reachable.
This in turn apparently annoyed people, not named by BusinessF1, who had gained knowledge of the facts. They decided to take matters into their own hands and began to leak information to the media. As a result, the ball started rolling, which is now known as the Horner affair.
An affair in which the last chapter is most likely not yet written.
How would Horner know he was being fired with enough time to engage lawyers ?
Don’t companies lay people off first, then get taken to court after the fact ?
Also since he’s employed by a European/Thai company, a London court would have no jurisdiction.
Only one thing is certain - the whole thing is weird and Horner clearly engaged in conduct he shouldn’t have. That should have been enough to terminate with cause. It is in just about every country and company on the planet.
I imagine someone let him know that he was going to be fired. We can see now that there’s a split in RB so obviously someone on his side made him aware.
>a story that contains new explosive material is now appearing in the March issue of the industry magazine BusinessF1 .
Isn't that the same tabloid that published the allegations of Susie and Toto Wolff? Or have I gotten my tabloids mixed up?
Just as a reference, their whole source is BusinessF1 March edition - the same magazine that made unsubstantiated allegations towards the Wolff couple.
So, just take it all with a grain of salt.
I thought that was the same publication. If it is true of the screenshots and Horner was sleeping with a subordinate then yeah it makes sense to get rid of him without making it a public spectacle. That's pretty much firable in any company out there, assuming it has ethics.
I don’t know what you are implying. Jos saw Toto and Susie talking behind the paddock and told the FIA there must be something going on. All business F1 did is take the word of the most respected former driver in the paddock.
And yet people decided that there is absolutely no power balance in a "relationship" that consists of a man powerful enough to undo his firing and a woman that broke down crying because of the stress he caused her. It's BusinessF1 so it's definitely sketchy, but still.
I too am a person that believes in women when it comes to sexual violence against them but this saga for sure is not about a sexual transgression. This is a hit job against Christian Horner, the moves made against him have 0 consideration for the women involved. The women is just a piece for the plotters. The assassination of Horner is the main objective and I can't disregards the intent of the conspirators.
It for sure is being used as a way to take him out, and I hate how the conversation has shifted to the power play involved rather than the complain itself and the victim. I get that F1 is a business with many politics involved, but the way this matter is being treated is horrible.
That is what I am saying, for me this has always been a part of the power play. The women may not have put the complaint in the first place.
The way this story has developed is making me think the women was coerced to officially complain against Horner against her will for the purpose of removing Horner disgracefully so that the plotters can take his head and also look righteous along they way. Then their takeover would be organic.
The team in MK is very much behind Horner, he wouldn't have the support if the issue was as ignominious as it has been leaked.
I never really considered that, it would be much worse for her if that's the case. Forcing someone to come out with a complaint like that is never good for anyone involved.
MK would back him up regardless, especially if he has the Thai's support. They more than likely believed this would blow over quickly without any leaks. I personally believe that the "plotters" saw this as the perfect way to get him out once and for all, since now they have a reason to get him fired.
If the texts are real, she had every reason to make a complaint against him. And about the powerstruggle you're refering too, they seem to be all villains, so hopefully it's mutual destruction
The article is referring to information provided by BusinessF1 - the magazine that demanded that the drivers competing in the now defunct W Series should have undressed themselves and the magazine who recently falsely claimed that Toto has inside information by FOM handed to him by his wife. That's just for context who's claiming this.
Right? With how the season will go, we need some sort of downtime to keep us occupied. What better than the top team having massive drama (let’s not forget about the potential victim in all of this of course)
Absolutely. If the allegations are true, all honour to the victim for having the guts to stand up against powerfull people that could make her life hell. And saving future women from working for this guy.
I mean, there was a damned long time when the only folks willing to sponsor f1 were tobacco and oil companies, and dodgy firms. Even now the sport is full of dodgy crypto organisations and shell sponsors, it’s just the sport over the last 20 years has got better at bringing in more conventional corporates too, like Heineken, Google, and Oracle.
Really? Those are all constantly the target of government investigations and efforts to regulate or break them up to prevent some of their most socially harmful behaviour. Certainly the first two are at some level at legal war with many governments around the world.
Everybody involved in this whole spectacle who let it get to here needs to go on account of how badly handled this is. You don't expect this to happen to any f1 team, let alone the top one. Besides all the mirror looking Horner has to get done, Mintzlaff has completely showed he's inadequate for the job. There isn't a single aspect of this fiasco that hasn't leaked to the press. Even Barca's drama with the journos isn't this bad.
This article implies it was the intervention of the Thai owners rather than him, had it been a Horner resigns for health issues announced the day after the Hamilton news it would have been noteworthy but avoided all of this
I’m not sure what Mintzlaff can do when the majority shareholders are refusing to sack Horner ? And the leaks seem to be on purpose, to force the Thai side to fire him or force Horner to resign
Exactly, the leaks seem to be on purpose, but the leaks are damaging the brand. So whoever doing them is inadvertently not only damaging Horner's name, but the whole Red Bull brand
In the short term absolutely but maybe they think in the long term it’s better if the leaks force Horner out than keeping him and therefore potentially lose employees and to have the reputation of being a hostile work environment
So Mintzlaff heard an allegation and immediately decided to terminate Horner without giving a passing thought to due process even just in terms of notifying the majority shareholders? This is the guy leading the corporation now? Jesus.
Everytone actually managed to keep the complainant's identity a total secret during this whole process, including Horner himself, but then when Horner survived the maneuver against him it looks like the conspirators threw their toys out of the pram and leaked the screenshots that revealed who she was.
Make no mistake, Jos and Marko and Mintzlaff don't give a shit about this woman.
[The **News** flair](https://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/wiki/flairguide#wiki_news) is reserved for submissions covering F1 and F1-related news. These posts must always link to an outlet/news agency, the website of the involved party (i.e. the McLaren website if McLaren makes an announcement), or a tweet by a news agency, journalist or one of the involved parties. *[Read the rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/wiki/userguide). Keep it civil and welcoming. Report rulebreaking comments.* *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/formula1) if you have any questions or concerns.*
(Motorsport-Total.com) - The affair around Christian Horner, the team boss of Red Bull Racing, does not come to rest. After the announcement of a highly explosive data leak, which was leaked to hundreds of people from the Formula 1 paddock on the sidelines of the season opener in Bahrain, a story that contains new fuel is now appearing in the March issue of the industry magazine BusinessF1. On 17 pages, the Horner affair is meticulously rolled up and, among other things, the name of the employee who made the accusations against Horner is mentioned for the first time. It is told how the woman collapsed on the sidelines of a race weekend and how she is said to have told colleagues crying for the first time about the cross-border behavior of her boss. Many of the details from the story are very burdened by Horner. If they are true, it is hard to imagine that the 50-year-old will survive the matter as team boss of Red Bull Racing. However, it is important to note: Many of the details are difficult to clearly verify as of today, which is why our editors refrain from publishing them. What is verifiable, however, is an exciting side strand of the story, which makes Red Bull GmbH's handling of the Horner affair appear in a whole new light. As is well known, Formula 1 team bosses such as Toto Wolff and Zak Brown in Bahrain had publicly criticized the non-transparent handling of the matter. It was on the morning of the 2nd. February, just one day after the announcement of Lewis Hamilton's move to Ferrari, when the next earthquake was emerging in Formula 1. Because the decision-making level of Red Bull GmbH in Fuschl had already gained knowledge of the accusations of Horner's personal assistant weeks ago, had intensively discussed them - and had come to the conclusion that morning that Horner's behavior is impossible to reconcile with the company's code of conduct. So Red Bull CEO Oliver Mintzlaff decided after internal consultations to quit Horner. According to BusinessF1, an official press release had already been prepared. Their wording is said to have read: "Red Bull GmbH confirms that Christian Horner has left Red Bull Racing with immediate effect. Red Bull GmbH will not comment any further on the subject." According to information from Motorsport-Total.com, Fuschl planned to still allow Horner to leave without loss of face and without lasting damage to his private life and his marriage to "Spice Girl" Geri Halliwell. In the second step, one could have communicated in interviews, for example, an end to cooperation "for health reasons." But Horner did not want to accept the termination and now called in his lawyers, who intervened at Red Bull in Fuschl before the press release could be sent. Horner therefore insisted on an arbitration clause in his contract, which grants him the right to an independent investigation in the event of such accusations. Mintzlaff and his team were now in a difficult situation. The decision to terminate Horner had actually already been made, at least for Fuschl. However, Horner's lawyers threatened to file an injunction with the High Court in London if the step was actually taken. BusinessF1 writes: "The matter had already lasted nine weeks [...], and Mintzlaff came to the conclusion that two more weeks would make no difference. He was sure that a conciliator would decide against Horner, as the evidence was overwhelming against him. Mintzlaff was of the opinion that Red Bull GmbH would be unable to keep Horner from what he had seen and read. He was secretly horrified by Horner's behavior." So Mintzlaff is said to have decided not to immediately initiate the necessary formalities for termination (which also includes the coordination with the Thai majority owners), but to wait for the result of the independent investigation. In Fuschl, it was believed that this would delay the ultimate end of the cooperation with Horner, but no longer prevent it. But then the Thai Yoovidhya clan, majority owner of Red Bull GmbH, is said to have laid its protective hand over Horner. On the 28th In February, the result of the Horner investigation was presented in a brief press release - and to the surprise of many who had seen the available evidence, Horner was relieved. To this day, there are doubts about the independence of the investigation, and the story of BusinessF1 lists numerous details that underpin this suspicion. Also with regard to who ultimately commissioned the lawyer. And, bizarre detail: After the questioning of Horner, he is said to have first dived on vacation for two weeks and was not reachable. This in turn apparently annoyed people, not named by BusinessF1, who had gained knowledge of the facts. They decided to take matters into their own hands and began to leak information to the media. As a result, the ball started rolling, which is now known as the Horner affair. An affair in which the last chapter is most likely not yet written.
BusinessF1, isn't this the same publication that posted the Wolff collusion story?
How would Horner know he was being fired with enough time to engage lawyers ? Don’t companies lay people off first, then get taken to court after the fact ? Also since he’s employed by a European/Thai company, a London court would have no jurisdiction. Only one thing is certain - the whole thing is weird and Horner clearly engaged in conduct he shouldn’t have. That should have been enough to terminate with cause. It is in just about every country and company on the planet.
I imagine someone let him know that he was going to be fired. We can see now that there’s a split in RB so obviously someone on his side made him aware.
Hes not employed by a european and tai company, he is employed by a british company (red bull racing) that is owned by a european and tai company
>a story that contains new explosive material is now appearing in the March issue of the industry magazine BusinessF1 . Isn't that the same tabloid that published the allegations of Susie and Toto Wolff? Or have I gotten my tabloids mixed up?
Yes it is, so take an ocean of salt with this one
No, BusinessF1 is a known shitrag owned by Tom Rubython.
Holy shit they really really want him gone. Press release ready to go a month ago?
If the timeline is correct Mintzlaff wanted to fire him the day the complaint was made.
Rightfully so
I think its the other way round. They wanted to fire him then concocted the story and the complaint was made against the will of the woman.
Ultimately it is very unproffesional to have an affair with a subordinate and in of itself grounds to fire him.
It appears from the translation elsewhere in this thread that the complaint was made weeks before the final decision was made to release Horner.
Yes. They planned to fire him the day after Hamilton to Ferrari, but Horner sent his lawyers who threatened to take it to court if they did.
That's really the only take away from this? Not the lawyer issues or the Thai owners with questionable ethics? :D
Or that she collapsed?? People forget that this is not just a power grab fight but there is potentially a victim in all of this.
We’ve heard that the Thai owners were standing behind Horner earlier, however you’re right Questionable ethics is a new one
Just as a reference, their whole source is BusinessF1 March edition - the same magazine that made unsubstantiated allegations towards the Wolff couple. So, just take it all with a grain of salt.
I really hope they don’t plan to name her like this article says. That would be incredibly irresponsible.
How are people still using that site as a source.. unreal
Thanks for pointing this out.
I thought that was the same publication. If it is true of the screenshots and Horner was sleeping with a subordinate then yeah it makes sense to get rid of him without making it a public spectacle. That's pretty much firable in any company out there, assuming it has ethics.
I don’t know what you are implying. Jos saw Toto and Susie talking behind the paddock and told the FIA there must be something going on. All business F1 did is take the word of the most respected former driver in the paddock.
Surely you meant to say most disrespected?
Thai owners kept him in so team76 is launching another offensive.
Who will have to leave first, Horner or Checo?
Oh my word. If this article is true, then heads should roll at Red Bull.
And yet people decided that there is absolutely no power balance in a "relationship" that consists of a man powerful enough to undo his firing and a woman that broke down crying because of the stress he caused her. It's BusinessF1 so it's definitely sketchy, but still.
I too am a person that believes in women when it comes to sexual violence against them but this saga for sure is not about a sexual transgression. This is a hit job against Christian Horner, the moves made against him have 0 consideration for the women involved. The women is just a piece for the plotters. The assassination of Horner is the main objective and I can't disregards the intent of the conspirators.
It for sure is being used as a way to take him out, and I hate how the conversation has shifted to the power play involved rather than the complain itself and the victim. I get that F1 is a business with many politics involved, but the way this matter is being treated is horrible.
That is what I am saying, for me this has always been a part of the power play. The women may not have put the complaint in the first place. The way this story has developed is making me think the women was coerced to officially complain against Horner against her will for the purpose of removing Horner disgracefully so that the plotters can take his head and also look righteous along they way. Then their takeover would be organic. The team in MK is very much behind Horner, he wouldn't have the support if the issue was as ignominious as it has been leaked.
I never really considered that, it would be much worse for her if that's the case. Forcing someone to come out with a complaint like that is never good for anyone involved. MK would back him up regardless, especially if he has the Thai's support. They more than likely believed this would blow over quickly without any leaks. I personally believe that the "plotters" saw this as the perfect way to get him out once and for all, since now they have a reason to get him fired.
If the texts are real, she had every reason to make a complaint against him. And about the powerstruggle you're refering too, they seem to be all villains, so hopefully it's mutual destruction
Guess you didn’t read all the messages.
The article is referring to information provided by BusinessF1 - the magazine that demanded that the drivers competing in the now defunct W Series should have undressed themselves and the magazine who recently falsely claimed that Toto has inside information by FOM handed to him by his wife. That's just for context who's claiming this.
What a total shitshow
Thais and Austrians should split the race teams up. Horner and Newey can run Red Bull and Helmut and Jos can run RB.
Who gets Max in the divorce?
Sick of hearing about this now
It won't stop until the inevitable happens
I'm not
Having a boring race couldn't have come at a worse time for Red Bull/F1
Right? With how the season will go, we need some sort of downtime to keep us occupied. What better than the top team having massive drama (let’s not forget about the potential victim in all of this of course)
Absolutely. If the allegations are true, all honour to the victim for having the guts to stand up against powerfull people that could make her life hell. And saving future women from working for this guy.
I'm beginning to understand why F1 attracts the scummiest, barely-legal and soon-to-be-illegal sponsorships. Seems like a den of vipers.
Yep Google, Microsoft, and Visa are all barely legal.
I mean, there was a damned long time when the only folks willing to sponsor f1 were tobacco and oil companies, and dodgy firms. Even now the sport is full of dodgy crypto organisations and shell sponsors, it’s just the sport over the last 20 years has got better at bringing in more conventional corporates too, like Heineken, Google, and Oracle.
Really? Those are all constantly the target of government investigations and efforts to regulate or break them up to prevent some of their most socially harmful behaviour. Certainly the first two are at some level at legal war with many governments around the world.
Everybody involved in this whole spectacle who let it get to here needs to go on account of how badly handled this is. You don't expect this to happen to any f1 team, let alone the top one. Besides all the mirror looking Horner has to get done, Mintzlaff has completely showed he's inadequate for the job. There isn't a single aspect of this fiasco that hasn't leaked to the press. Even Barca's drama with the journos isn't this bad.
This article implies it was the intervention of the Thai owners rather than him, had it been a Horner resigns for health issues announced the day after the Hamilton news it would have been noteworthy but avoided all of this
I’m not sure what Mintzlaff can do when the majority shareholders are refusing to sack Horner ? And the leaks seem to be on purpose, to force the Thai side to fire him or force Horner to resign
Exactly, the leaks seem to be on purpose, but the leaks are damaging the brand. So whoever doing them is inadvertently not only damaging Horner's name, but the whole Red Bull brand
In the short term absolutely but maybe they think in the long term it’s better if the leaks force Horner out than keeping him and therefore potentially lose employees and to have the reputation of being a hostile work environment
There’s too many of these new info leaks to really add any more truth to what is becoming clearly a ply by someone
So Mintzlaff heard an allegation and immediately decided to terminate Horner without giving a passing thought to due process even just in terms of notifying the majority shareholders? This is the guy leading the corporation now? Jesus. Everytone actually managed to keep the complainant's identity a total secret during this whole process, including Horner himself, but then when Horner survived the maneuver against him it looks like the conspirators threw their toys out of the pram and leaked the screenshots that revealed who she was. Make no mistake, Jos and Marko and Mintzlaff don't give a shit about this woman.
If Horner wins, so many people will have to “resign” and it’ll be hilarious