by Another day in the never-ending soap opera of Formula 1 – and another day further away from a conclusion to the story that threatens to tear Red Bull, and the sport, apart.
In the latest developments, it emerged early on Thursday that the female colleague, who had raised allegations of “inappropriate, coercive behaviour” against Red Bull F1 boss Christian Horner, had cleared internal audit, suspended on full pay by Red Bull. Racing.
Although we still do not know the grounds for his suspension and whether he could be set aside, the sight of this situation, now, is extremely unacceptable. It is surprising that Formula 1 – a sport that prides itself on making such strides in inclusion and diversity in recent years – has allowed the story to get to this point. The message it sends, on the eve of the all-female F1 Academy racing series starting its second season on International Women’s Day, is truly chilling.
It suggests to women: keep quiet. Do not speak out against the behavior of senior personnel in your workplace. If you do, prepare to risk your own job, rather than the alleged offender’s.
The accused was working in his role as late as Monday at their base in Milton Keynes, but will now be looking at his legal options, a possible appeal or possibly even an employment tribunal.
But officially from Red Bull? Nada. No formal statement. No explanation. It’s just the usual shenanigans and drabs that characterize this entire month-long saga, along with the usual Chinese conversations between team personnel and journalists. Another example of corporate opacity summed up this entire process.
Worldwide, Red Bull has complied with the formalities of the internal investigation, adhering to the lines of “no comment” and confidentiality. It was a tone repeated by Horner on Thursday, when he instead demanded an end to harassment of his wife Geri Halliwell and his family.
Interruption, we hasten to add, he brought upon himself. Under normal circumstances, an employee under investigation could be suspended, at least on a temporary basis. But Horner remained at his post, straight in front of the camera and without any regrets, during the many high-profile team sessions, media interviews and last week’s season-opening grand prix.
Disruption was also encouraged when he joined Geri hand-in-hand into a Bahraini club. They did not meet: Horner was present at Red Bull’s hospitality unit hours before. Such a show of unity is well within their rights of course – but it is completely beside the point to expect the cameras not to enjoy the moment and journalists not to scrutinize in search of details.
Geri, incidentally, is expected to be present this Saturday at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in Jeddah. Don’t take any photos, though.
More significant than Horner’s victim complex is the damage this episode is doing, day by day, to the caricatured F1 product that has been carefully constructed over the last few years, especially in this new Netflix era. A sport that seems capable of change, away from the billion pound boys’ club it once was.
Neither F1 nor the FIA have made any formal comment on the situation. The stakeholders and the governance of such a sport around the world do not help to remain silent in this situation, and instead they raise more questions about the whereabouts of their loyalties. Instead, we hear murmurs that FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem – himself under investigation by his own body – told Max Verstappen to back Horner publicly last week in Bahrain. Verstappen, matching his team, refused to elaborate on what he had been told by Ben Sulayem.
The subplot of this complaint – the revelation of politics within the team involving Verstappen’s entourage Helmut Marko and the parent company in Salzburg against Horner and Thai majority owner Chalerm Yoovidhya – has been at the fore in recent days. However, it is easy to forget that at the heart of this issue is a woman complaining to HR about the behavior of elite males, which may include messages of a sexually suggestive nature.
The damage this has done to the Red Bull brand, amid unprecedented success on track, is now undeniable. The partners will be keeping a close eye on the next developments, as will their star driver and his father. Red Bull’s sister team, RB, decided to ignore the beat of the day and list all the women inside their suit on the side of their car ahead of International Women’s Day with the message: “You make the difference.”
The irony is palpable. But in the case of F1, the whole saga is getting dangerous. Slowly but surely, it is undoing all the really good work the sport has done to increase the visibility of women and ethnic minorities, along with making polo a safe and welcoming workplace. More transparency is urgently needed.
