Raging Red Bull saga: Unfolding timeline of events

Red Bull have made a superb start to the new Formula One season on-track, with Max Verstappen leading home two successive Red Bull 1-2s in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

But off-track the team has endured a tumultuous start to 2024, with team principal Christian Horner’s position coming under intense scrutiny.

ALSO READ: Horner: ‘Nobody bigger than the team’ within Red Bull

Here AFP Sport maps out a timeline to the saga triggered when a female employee accused Horner of inappropriate and controlling behaviour:

Feb 5

Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf breaks the bombshell story that shatters the air of serenity at world champions Red Bull and rocks the world of Formula One.

Christian Horner, one of the most successful team principals in F1 history, is under investigation by Red Bull’s parent company after an allegation of inappropriate and controlling behaviour by a female member of the team.

Austrian drinks giant Red Bull GmbH confirmed an internal investigation was already underway.

Horner, whose fate is on the line, told the paper: “I completely deny these claims.”

Feb 9

Horner is questioned for eight hours at a secret London location by the unidentified lawyer leading the inquiry.

But hopes of a resolution to the affair before Red Bull’s 2024 car launch a few days later were dashed, with the BBC suggesting it could take weeks before the inquiry produced a verdict.

Feb 13

Former F1 boss, Bernie Ecclestone, tells AFP he had advised his close friend Horner “to keep his head down” in the eye of the storm.

Feb 15

Rarely if ever can an F1 car launch have generated so much interest as Red Bull’s at their Milton Keynes headquarters.

Horner duly appeared, stealing the headlines from the true showstopper, the RB20 car, blissfully oblivious to all the drama around it. Horner conceded the inquiry was a distraction, but insisted it was business as usual.

Feb 18

Formula One steps in with its first observation on the developing saga – urging Red Bull to conclude their inquiry “at the earliest opportunity”.

Feb 21

Red Bull’s defending three-time world champion Max Verstappen put all the off-track noise to one side to dominate pre-season testing in Sakhir, Bahrain.

Feb 28

Seventy-two hours before the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix the verdict finally drops in the afternoon clearing Horner of any wrongdoing.

The future of the Briton at the team he has guided to seven drivers’ world titles and six constructors’ crowns in the 19-years since Red Bull’s arrival on the grid seemingly safe.

“The grievance has been dismissed,” announced the Austrian drinks giant, adding: “Red Bull is confident that the investigation has been fair, rigorous and impartial.”

Feb 29

One day after being cleared, Horner was on the pitwall at Sakhir preparing for the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix.

“I am pleased to be here in Bahrain, and with the team, focused on the season ahead. Within the team it (the unity) has never been stronger,” he said.

Later in the day, the affair took a dramatic twist after private messages allegedly between Horner and a female staff member were leaked to Formula One officials and journalists.

Red Bull’s parent company suggested the team believed the email of allegations amounted to a private matter.

March 2

Max Verstappen led home a Red Bull 1-2 in Bahrain to bring some much-needed respite to Horner and Red Bull.

Horner brushed off continued speculation over his future, saying he had the backing of Red Bull’s owners, including majority shareholder Chalerm Yoovidhya who was with him in Bahrain.

March 3

“The team is in danger of being torn apart. It can’t go on the way it is. It will explode,” Max Verstappen’s father Jos told British newspaper Daily Mail a few hours after his son’s triumph.

“He is playing the victim, when he is the one causing the problems,” Verstappen senior said of Horner.

March 6

In Jeddah, ahead of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Max Verstappen defends his father, saying “he is not the liar”.

March 7

Red Bull suspend the female employee who accused Horner of inappropriate behaviour on full pay.

Horner says it is “time to look forward and draw a line” under the controversy. “A grievance was raised, fully investigated and it was dismissed. We move onwards.”

March 8

“For me, Helmut has to stay.”

Max Verstappen launches a powerful defence of his mentor and Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko when confronted by reports that the Austrian may face a possible suspension in the aftermath of the Horner saga.

“I feel like if such an important pillar falls away, what I have said to the team, that is not good for my situation as well. For me, Helmut has to stay.”

March 9

Business as usual on the track, with Verstappen leading a second successive Red Bull 1-2 at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

March 16

Horner’s accuser, the Red Bull female employee, appeals against the team’s decision to dismiss her complaint.

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