Red Bull Boss Christian Horner Misses Practice To Meet With FIA President Over Allegations

Red Bull Racing enters the 2024 Formula 1 season as the runaway favorite to claim its third consecutive constructors championship.

And while it’s been smooth sailing on the track in testing and early practice sessions, it’s been anything but that off the track.

On Friday, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner missed part of free practice three for the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix to speak with FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem regarding sexual harassment allegations against him by a team employee.

Red Bull conducted an independent investigation and announced that the “grievance has been dismissed.” That announcement, perhaps conveniently, came just prior to the start of the first grand prix weekend of the new season.

However, the team did not reveal any of the information that came out of the investigation.

“The investigation report is confidential and contains the private information of the parties and third parties who assisted in the investigation, and therefore we will not be commenting further out of respect for all concerned,” a statement from Red Bull read.

The case took another turn on Thursday when a Google Drive allegedly containing evidence from the investigation leaked to nearly 200 people in the F1 paddock. Among those receiving an email with the drive were (F1 owners) Liberty Media, Formula 1, the FIA, the other nine team principals and multiple media outlets.

The drive contained alleged text messages and photos shared between Horner and his accuser. Although the authenticity of said messages and photos could not be verified.

“I won’t comment on anonymous speculation, but to reiterate, I have always denied the allegations,” Horner said via a team spokesman.

“I respected the integrity of the independent investigation and fully cooperated with it every step of the way,” he continued. “It was a thorough and fair investigation conducted by an independent specialist barrister and it has concluded, dismissing the complaint made. I remain fully focused on the start of the season.”

Despite the statement, Ben Sulayem still wanted to meet with Horner. So the FIA president requested an in-person meeting prior to Friday’s third practice. That meeting then extended into the first half of the practice sesssion

Eventually, Horner and Ben Sulayem emerged and embraced in pit lane before going their separate ways. Neither has discussed what the meeting entailed. But it’s clear this case is far from over.