Female Red Bull employee who was suspended after the investigation saga lodges complaint against Christian Horner with FIA

The Red Bull F1 team has become a soap opera in recent times for varied reasons.

Female Red Bull employee who was suspended after the investigation saga lodges complaint against Christian Horner with FIA

Christian Horner (Via: IMAGO)

At the start of February, a female employee of Red Bull made accusations against Christian Horner of inappropriate and controlling behavior. The team soon after decided to launch a private investigation into the same. The Red Bull’s team principal kept denying the accusations. The team had hired a Barrister from the outside, and on the first week of the investigation, Horner was brought in and questioned for eight straight hours. 

The entire investigation took place for about 10 weeks according to the Red Bull team. However, Horner wasn’t temporarily removed from his position. The Brit was seen during the RB20 car launch event and was also present during the car’s first track running in Silverstone. After the submission of the inappropriate behavior report by the barrister to Red Bull GmbH, the company cleared Horner of all charges. 

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However, what came as an even bigger surprise was that after one week, Red Bull suspended the female employee from her job on the team. There was no particular reason offered as to why the decision was made. Even after the media’s repetitive questioning, the personnel at Red Bull kept a tight lip.

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The female employee, however, was given a chance to place her appeal at the FIA, as they were afraid that perhaps Red Bull would push the matter under the rug. As understood by BBC Sport, the female employee has made a complaint regarding Red Bull’s dismissal of her previous complaint. Now the matter is officially in the hands of FIA as many team leaders have also raised their concerns regarding the same. 

Christian Horner’s Red Bull is again under the spotlight and for all the wrong reasons

Ahead of this year’s Bahrain GP, Horner was officially cleared by the team, however, within a week, the female employee was removed from her position, as mentioned earlier. Despite going through such a difficult process and doing everything right, she had to face more problems.

Helmut Marko, Max Verstappen and Christian Horner
Helmut Marko, Max Verstappen and Christian Horner (Via: IMAGO)

A friend of that female employee told the media,

Questions need to be asked of the Red Bull investigation, transparency would bring confidence in what is happening to her. Who at Red Bull was tasked with establishing the facts? Who at Red Bull had access to all the confidential material that was used? Who at Red Bull is making all these decisions and who at Red Bull is making efforts to establish the source of these leaks? She just can't get over the fact that she made a complaint and was suspended - all she wants is transparency in the process.
A friend of the female employee said: Daily Mail

A lot of questions have been raised about Red Bull’s ethics and integrity. Many believe that the female employee was a victim of what clearly can be seen as a use of power. The Austrian team is already going through a lot of internal politics and power struggles. Considering how things have panned at Red Bull so far, more controversy could hit them by the time the Australian GP weekend comes around.

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