An appeal against an investigation that cleared Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner of wrongdoing has been dismissed.
The investigation came after a female employee accused Horner of coercive behavior and sexual harassment. This prompted RBR’s parent company, Red Bull GmbH, to launch an internal investigation led by an independent lawyer, which ultimately cleared the 50-year-old. The employee appealed the decision, but according to Red Bull, another independent lawyer dismissed the appeal.
“An investigation has been conducted into complaints made against Christian Horner earlier this year,” the team said in a statement.
“The complaint was dealt with through the company’s complaints handling procedures by an independent KC. [King’s Counsel] The complaint was dismissed.
“The complainant exercised his right of appeal and the appeal was conducted by another independent KC. All stages of the appeal procedure have now been concluded and the final outcome is that the appeal was not upheld. The KC’s conclusion has been accepted and adopted by Red Bull. The internal procedure has been completed.
“The company respects the privacy of all employees and will not be commenting further publicly on this matter at this time.
“Red Bull is committed to continuing to meet the highest workplace standards.”
Shortly after the accusations were made public in February, a number of screenshots purporting to show text messages between Horner and his accuser were anonymously leaked to F1 executives and journalists. The authenticity of the files has not been confirmed, and Horner said at the time that he would not comment on “anonymous speculation.” Red Bull itself has also declined to comment publicly on the matter, citing the need to maintain the confidentiality of those involved in the investigation.
