F1 News: Christian Horner’s Close Confidant Bernie Ecclestone Intervened in the Investigation, Reports Say

It has been a week since the allegations of inappropriate behavior were made public against Red Bull team principal, Christian Horner. While the Brit swiftly denied the accusations, Red Bull GmbH launched an internal investigation against him, which is being overseen by an external barrister. As part of the investigation, the investigators interviewed Horner on Friday, which was originally believed to bring a conclusion to the investigation. However, according to recent reports, we now know that Horner’s long-time friend, Bernie Ecclestone, has intervened in the investigation through multiple telephonic conversations in an advisory capacity.

The interview on Friday was expected to happen at the team’s headquarters but was moved to a secret location in London to avoid media attention. It reportedly went on for more than 8 hours, but no official statement from Red Bull followed. It is now believed that the investigation might continue for weeks on end and might even spill over into the start of the season, casting doubt on whether Christian Horner will be seen around in the paddock for the Bahrain weekend.

What’s causing the delay in the Christian Horner investigation?

The allegations of inappropriate behavior were later understood to actually be about Horner’s supposed controlling and coercive behavior towards his employees. Considering the gravity of the situation, rushing to conclusions will not be the best course of action. The fact that Friday’s interview didn’t yield any conclusion wasn’t unexpected since the purpose of the meeting was for Horner to provide his perspective on allegations made against him.

Now that the investigators have Horner’s side of the story, they are likely to conduct more interviews to see if other employees corroborate his statements. It was reported that a few members of the Red Bull Racing staff have already been questioned, including the employee who made the allegations. According to a report from Motorsport-Total.com, the identity of the female employee is now known among the insiders, but the media and others will refrain from revealing it for now to respect her privacy concerns.

What’s even more intriguing is that F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali is supposedly taking interest in the proceedings of the investigations as well, especially considering the sensitivity around abuse of power issues, particularly in the USA, where Liberty Media, the rights holder of Formula 1, is based.

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All the while this investigation has been going on, little news has come as to how Horner’s family is dealing with the issue apart from being utterly devastated.

Horner’s wife has been cautioned of the repercussions of supporting him

Ever since the allegations went public, Geri Halliwell has stood by Christian Horner in denying the claims. However, considering the sensitivity of the case, Geri has been caught in a catch-22. Whether she shows support for her husband or not, both situations are equally concerning for her and her family. Jack Izzard, the PR boss of Rhizome Media, drew parallels between Geri’s support for her husband and Victoria Beckham’s public support for her husband, David Beckham, during his infidelity scandal.

He highlighted the risk involved, stating that allegations of inappropriate behavior by someone in a position of power can have a more detrimental impact than extramarital affairs. This has the potential to destroy her image in the eyes of the public. However, on the other side, trying to hide from the situation is just as bad. According to The Sun, Jack explained, “… Going into lockdown could be interpreted as a sign of a fracture in the couple’s relationship and fuel speculation that there’s no smoke without fire.”

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Despite all the warnings and cautions, Geri has decided to support her husband regardless of the outcome of the investigation. What are your thoughts on her Catch-22 situation?