Horner fate set to be decided before Bahrain GP

Red Bull team principal under investigation by parent company for alleged misconduct

LONDON:

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner, who has denied allegations by a female employee about his conduct, could be out of a job or cleared to continue before Saturday's season-opening Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix.

Well-placed sources told Reuters they expected an announcement from Red Bull's Salzburg-based Austrian parent company before the race at Sakhir and possibly within the next 48 hours.

An investigation into the sport's longest serving principal, and husband of former Spice Girls singer Geri Halliwell, has been ongoing since January although details only emerged publicly on Feb. 5.

The British-based team have no control over the process. Neither the energy drink company nor the reigning champions have said what the allegations are, although media reports have spoken of inappropriate and controlling behaviour towards a female colleague.

Formula One, owned by U.S.-based Liberty Media, has said only that it hopes the matter "will be clarified at the earliest opportunity, after a fair and thorough process."

The sport, and governing body, are known to want the matter cleared up as soon as possible to avoid it hanging over the racing. Horner was interviewed by an independent barrister on Feb. 9 and the final report, submitted to Red Bull GmbH in Austria, is believed to be based on some 60 hours of interviews with all parties.

Sky Sports television reported the document amounted to well over 100 pages, but the details are likely to remain confidential.

Horner, 50, attended testing in Bahrain last week but returned to Britain and has been working at the Milton Keynes factory. He would normally travel to Bahrain on Wednesday, with Thursday the first day of practice and qualifying on Friday.

The race is being held on a Saturday to allow Bahrain and Saudi Arabia to host races before the start of Ramadan.

Horner said at the launch of his team's RB20 car in Milton Keynes this month that he was confident and cooperating with the process and denied "absolutely any allegation that's been made against me." Should he be forced out of Red Bull it would come as a seismic shock for the sport.

Horner and his team celebrated the most dominant season in Formula One history last year, with Red Bull winning 21 of 22 races, and will start the new season with Dutch driver Max Verstappen chasing a fourth successive title.

The team's other driver is Mexican Sergio Perez. Red Bull are also building up a powertrain operation at Milton Keynes before entering the new engine era in 2026 in partnership with Ford.