by The president of Formula One’s governing body made a high-profile intervention in the ongoing Christian Horner controversy on Friday night when he said the anger was “damaging the sport”.
Mohammed Ben Sulayem, the president of the FIA, shared his thoughts on the Red Bull crisis, which emerged after an explosive leak on WhatsApp exchanges on Thursday.
In an interview with the Financial Times, Sulayem – who spoke to Horner during a practice at the Bahrain GP earlier on Friday – said it was vital to “protect our sport from all this”.
“It’s the start of the season,” he said. “F1 is so popular. We just have to enjoy the start of the season. See the competition. Why do we shade it negatively?”
The rumor that there was a ‘second tranche’ of confidential data from the Horner inquiry, which was widely expected to land in boxes and down the paddock on Friday night, did not materialise.
Instead, Friday’s season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix ended with something approaching a norm: Max Verstappen taking pole for the first race of the season.
To describe this as a typical day in Formula One, however, would be stretching things. The outcome of Thursday’s release of WhatsApp exchanges, allegedly between Horner and the female employee who accused him of inappropriate behavior, is in no rush.
Despite having the complaint against him dismissed by an independent counsel appointed by Red Bull’s parent company earlier this week, Horner remains a man under scrutiny.
There are still demands for more transparency from Red Bull regarding the ruling, for the FIA or Formula One Management to take action, and speculation is rife as to what Red Bull’s partners such as Ford and Oracle are thinking.
After taking pole, Verstappen admitted that his principal was probably “a bit distracted” at the moment. That’s an understatement.
It feels vaguely surreal. Horner’s action was big news in the paddock on Friday morning.
Horner told Sky Sports it was time to “race” – the only thing he said publicly during the day – but there was little chance of taking the matter forward.
News emerged that Geri Horner, his wife, had touched down in Bahrain the evening before, aboard billionaire Tony Gallagher’s private jet. The former Spice Girl is expected to attend today’s race to show solidarity with her husband.
FIA president Sulayem arrived midway through the day and was seen chatting with Horner during FP3. He later asked him to his office for a meeting with F1 chief executive Stefano Domenicali.
As they discuss the best way forward, it is understood that both the FIA and F1 are keen to get their hands on Red Bull’s full report, so that they can give some assurances to the rest of the paddock that they are satisfied with the company’s decision regarding the grievance complaint.
It seems doubtful that Red Bull will share it. In its statement clearing Horner on Wednesday, the team’s parent company in Austria said it was satisfied its process was “fair, rigorous and impartial”. But he insisted he would not share the report, which is understood to run to hundreds of pages, because it was “confidential and contained private information about the parties and third parties who assisted in the investigation”.
Bad reputation threat
One regulatory lever the FIA may have is to launch its own investigation using the threat of defamation charges. Article 12.2.1.c of the International Sporting Code states that competitors will be deemed to have committed an offense in relation to: “Any fraudulent behavior or any act which is detrimental to the interests of any Competition or to the interests of motor sport in general.”
But by the end of the day the chances of that happening felt significantly diminished. Even if Red Bull has agreed to share the report, or an executive summary of it, handing over such a document requires the consent of both parties to a complaint. Ironically, now that much of the alleged data is in the public domain, Horner may no longer object. But her accuser could, since she lost the case.
And so we head into the first race of the season with the shadow of the investigation still very much hanging over the sport. Martin Brundle, on Sky Sports, summed up the sentiment of many when he said he was “sad about the whole thing”.
He added: “F1 is all over the front pages, all over the internet all over the world and it’s not about the racing. It’s not about who’s going to win this grand prix or who’s going to be on pole. So I think there is no doubt that what is going on is not good for F1 and I believe that some action needs to be taken to move this forward and bring this to a full conclusion.
“We’ll have to wait and see but we know that all allegations have been denied, and it’s just a horrible situation, whichever way you look at it, isn’t it?”
It certainly is. After taking the 33rd pole of his career, Verstappen was apparently asked if he still had faith in his team principal. “It’s not our business to get involved,” he replied. “We’re paid to do our job, that’s what we’re out there to do, and that’s what we love to do and that’s what we focus on.
“When I look at how Christian works within the team he’s been an incredible leader so you can’t question that in terms of performance.
“I speak to Christian a lot and he is fully committed to the team. He is here for the performance, and of course he is a little distracted. But we focus on the performance side of things and that’s how we work together.”
