Christian Horner breaks silence after serious allegations against Red Bull F1 boss

Red Bull Racing boss Christian Horner insists it is "business as usual" at the F1 team as he denies allegations of inappropriate behaviour on his part. An investigation into the Red Bull boss' conduct is underway after an allegation was made against him by another member of staff from the British-based F1 team spearheaded by Max Verstappen.

Horner oversaw a record-breaking season for Red Bull in 2023 that saw the team win 21 of 22 races, with Verstappen setting a new F1 record, claiming 17 race victories in one season. Red Bull is currently investigating the claims against Horner and says it is taking the allegations against its team principal "extremely seriously".

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Red Bull's team principal faced questioning for eight hours at an internal hearing in London last week. Horner, married to former Spice Girls pop star Geri Halliwell, categorically denies the accusation. The matter is anticipated to be unresolved by the time the new F1 season gets underway in Bahrain in just over two weeks.

As Red Bull unveiled their RB20 car ahead of the new season on Thursday, Horner addressed questions about the team's focus heading into the new campaign. "Inevitably there has been a distraction, but the team are very together and everybody is focused on the season ahead," Horner said.

"It’s been very much business as normal. The support has been fantastic. For me it is business as normal. I’m confident in [my innocence]. If I wasn’t I wouldn’t be here. I’m absolutely committed to this team. I’ve been here since the beginning. I’ve built this team.

"There have been highs and lows along the way. We have won 113 races, seven drivers’ world championships, six constructors’ world championships, in 19 seasons. And you know, that’s in the history books now. But it’s what lies ahead that’s important. So my focus is on the future."

Horner has been team principal at Red Bull since they entered into F1 19 years ago, overseeing seven drivers' world championships - three of those won by Max Verstappen and four straight by Sebastian Vettel - and six constructors' titles. The 50-year-old is the longest-serving team principal on the F1 grid, having been at the helm for Red Bull throughout an extremely successful period for the British-based team.

Max Verstappen rubbishes rumours of rift with Christian Horner

Verstappen rubbished suggestions his relationship with Horner had become strained since the allegations, saying nothing has changed and that his sole focus is on getting himself in the best condition to defend his F1 crown. "I don’t know who likes to write these kind of things but to me and Christian, it is like always,” Verstappen said.

"I am very focused on my performance on my side to get ready, to be fit, to be ready to drive the car, to be discussing things with the engineers Plus my life is not only Formula One. When I’m at home I prefer not to think about it too much outside of my schedule and training. There are a lot of things going on in the background. I’m more than busy enough."Sign up to our newsletter and score the biggest sport stories of the week.