Christian Horner grilled for ‘eight hours’ by lawyer as probe may go on ‘into 2024 season’

On Friday, a leading lawyer conducted an interview with Christian Horner at a clandestine venue.

Reports suggest that a determination on the fate of Christian Horner, the head of Red Bull, may not be reached until after the Bahrain Grand Prix in the upcoming month.

Allegations of misconduct, which Horner denies, are currently under investigation after a Red Bull employee filed a complaint with the team’s parent company.

Horner faced intense questioning from a prominent external attorney during a hearing on Friday, held in a undisclosed location after Red Bull decided not to conduct it at their Milton Keynes headquarters.

The aim was to resolve the issue prior to the unveiling of Red Bull’s new car on Thursday, but it appears that Horner’s future may still be uncertain for several weeks.

A final decision could be delayed until after next month’s Bahrain Grand Prix, according to PA, with Horner likely to face subsequent rounds of questioning as he looks to prove his innocence. The 50-year-old remains in his current role for now and is reportedly expected to be in attendance at Red Bull’s season launch event next week.

It is also claimed that Horner was questioned for around eight hours on Friday, with the interview starting at 10am and running into the early evening. The possibility of a quick resolution to the saga is said to be ‘highly doubtful’, meaning that Horner faces an anxious wait to discover if he will be relieved of his duties.

Horner has led Red Bull to seven Drivers’ Championship titles and six Constructors’ Championship triumphs during his 19 seasons in charge of the team. He is one of the most successful team principals currently in F1, with only Mercedes boss Toto Wolff having won more titles than him over the years.

Red Bull completed a clean sweep last year in the most dominant season in the history of the sport, with Max Verstappen cruising to the individual honours ahead of team-mate Sergio Perez. However, a change of team principal at the start of the new campaign would risk derailing their efforts to make it a hat-trick of successive Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championship titles.

Red Bull expressed the significance they attach to the issue and assured that they will resolve it promptly, as mentioned in a statement released earlier this week.

The statement conveyed that upon learning about recent accusations, the company commenced an independent inquiry which is presently in progress and being conducted by an external legal expert.

The company regards these issues with great importance and will conduct the investigation as quickly as possible.

It would not be suitable to provide any additional statements at this moment.