Getty ImagesChristian Horner and Max Verstappen last week in Bahrain
NOS Sport•woensdag, 19:33
After a few turbulent weeks in Formula 1, today the news came that Red Bull Racing team boss Christian Horner has been acquitted of inappropriate behavior. In recent weeks, Red Bull, Max Verstappen’s team, conducted an internal investigation after a complaint was filed against Horner.
This weekend is the first race of the new season in Bahrain. Former Formula 1 drivers Jan Lammers and Robert Doornbos do not think that Verstappen has been distracted by the matter.
Tension, but no impact
Lammers: “Horner is the policymaker and he manages people, but it is not about the people he has to work with directly. I don’t think Max notices much of it.”
Doornbos completely agrees: “Everyone has a role within the team. Max just has to drive terribly fast, the engineers have to build a special car and Horner has to lead the team. This entire process has had no influence on the car, because it had already been developed and built. And the tests have been completed.”
“It creates tension in the team, but it has no impact on performance.”
According to Doornbos, it is nice for the team that the investigation has been completed before the start of the season. “The competition will of course use it to destabilize them. That in itself is logical, it would also happen the other way around. It is nice that there is no more negative energy,” says Doornbos, who also says that he is happy that a study like this has a “positive ending” for once.
Dragging
The woman who filed a complaint against Horner can still appeal the outcome of the investigation. Lammers therefore thinks that the case will continue to drag on. “You would think: it will be an exciting first race weekend, but it will be exciting in a completely different way.”
‘Fire extinguished, but Red Bull has to put out a lot of fire’
“We thought several times that Christian Horner would not survive the allegations,” says Louis Dekker, Formula 1 reporter for NOS. “But the longer it went on and the more he showed up at the Milton Keynes head office among all the employees and looked confident, you can assume that he had an indication that he would be released unscathed.”
“Everyone now thinks he will stay, but a lot of damage has been done internally. There has been a leak within his team. He cannot say: I have been exonerated and all problems have been solved. The fire has been extinguished, but just like a real fire, You can also extinguish it afterwards. Red Bull will still have to do a lot of extinguishing.”
“You get back a Horner that has suffered a few dents.”
Doornbos drove for Red Bull Racing in the team’s debut season in 2005. Horner was already the chef then. Doornbos believes that Horner has “proven that he is an incredible team boss”.
“It would be crazy if that were to end. Of course I don’t know the ins and outs, but I do see this as something positive. The Red Bull success formula can continue.”
NOS