Just Now:The political fight for Red Bull’s spirit, and the way in which it could break F1 tight grip with boss in conflict

Red Bull Racing should be deep in optimistic preparations to defend its dominant 2023 championship this week. Instead the beginnings of its 2024 season have been mired in controversy.

An allegation of inappropriate behaviour levied against team principal Christian Horner has overshadowed his squad’s off-season and derailed Formula 1’s 2024 prologue just as the sport begins to draw up the curtains on another season.

The accusation has been escalated from the team in Milton Keynes to the Red Bull parent company in Austria, a sign of the seriousness with which it’s being treated. An external investigator — a British King’s Counsel — is inquiring into the matter.

Though no details have been officially made public, reports suggest Horner has been accused of “controlling” workplace behaviour by a female employee.

Horner strongly denies the allegations.

Despite the 50-year-old being grilled for eight hours on Friday in London, no deadline has been set for the matter’s resolution.

It puts the entire saga at risk of being dragged not only through Red Bull Racing’s season launch — scheduled for this Thursday, 15 February — but into pre-season testing and potentially the opening rounds of the year.

It also creates a far greater risk of Red Bull Racing’s dirty laundry being aired in public.

While the allegations against the long-time team boss must be taken seriously in their own right, there’s no denying the background of political tension inside the team.

Regardless of the investigation’s outcome, rumours of friction among management figures won’t disappear quietly.

Red Bull Racing was established in 2005 by energy drinks magnate Dietrich Mateschitz as part of the Austrian brand’s extreme sports marketing strategy. Sister team Toro Rosso was inaugurated the following year.

The power of Mateschitz’s personality was the glue that held the operation together. Though control was exercised through adviser Helmut Marko and via respective team principals Horner and Franz Tost, there was never any doubt that the buck stopped with the Austrian tycoon.