In the escalating Formula One scandal, Red Bull suspends one alleged victim of abuse.
After claiming to be engaging in “inappropriate behavior,” the female F1 employee was suspended.
As the 2024 Formula 1 season begins, the series is mired in scandal.Christian Horner, the team principal of Red Bull Racing, was the subject of an investigation by his company for allegedly “controlling and inappropriate behavior” with a female employee, as Ars reported on Monday. We now know that the F1 team has placed the employee on paid leave of absence.
The Guardian was informed by a team representative that Red Bull was unable to comment on an internal issue.
The complainant has the opportunity to appeal, Red Bull said in a statement regarding the grievance’s dismissal last week, but the company “is confident that the investigation has been fair, rigorous, and impartial.”
“The investigation report is confidential and contains the private information of the parties and third parties who assisted in the investigation, and therefore we will not be commenting further out of respect for all concerned,” the statement continued. “Red Bull will continue striving to meet the highest workplace standards.”
At a press meeting for the F1 team executives today at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, which is happening this Saturday, Horner addressed the F1 media. According to Horner, “it has garnered a lot of attention from various media outlets for various reasons, and I believe it’s time to draw a line under it. and to pay attention to what is happening on course.”
“We are all bound by the same restrictions,” Horner stated in reference to the probe. I wish I could talk about it, but I just can’t. It has been challenging in a lot of ways.”
Despite the fact that Horner was exonerated by Red Bull’s internal inquiry, hundreds of F1 paddock attendees were exposed to WhatsApp screenshots purportedly between Horner and the now-suspended employee, thanks to an anonymous source. The father of Formula One world champion Max Verstappen, Jos Verstappen, then told the media that Horner’s stance was unworkable.
Verstappen Sr. has refuted any involvement in the leak, which is widely thought to be the result of a power struggle within Red Bull when co-owner Dietrich Mateschitz passed away. The Thai family that owns 51 percent of the business supports Horner, while Mateschitz’s son, who owns the other 49 percent, does not support the Austrian administration of Red Bull GmbH.
We have questioned other paddock residents about their opinions of the circumstances. “It’s a really, really important time for the sport to show and stick to its values, hold ourselves accountable for our actions, and it’s a really, really pivotal moment for the sport in terms of what we project to the world and how it’s handled,” seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton told reporters.
“And it’s not been handled very well to this point, and I think transparency is really key,” Hamilton said.
“It highlights some of the issues that we also have within the sport, when we’re talking about diversity and inclusion, that inclusion, making people feel comfortable in this environment, it’s clearly not the case.”
“I can only control what happens within Williams, and what I can do within that environment is open everyone’s eyes to ‘this is how we have to be,’ because the best ideas don’t come from being a closed group of individuals,” said James Vowles, team principal for Williams Racing, in an interview with Bloomberg. It originates from variety.
“These are just allegations,” Vowles declared. “I regret not knowing more about their motivations or the importance of what has transpired. All I can say is that, should this ever occur in our domain, we will provide complete assistance in resolving the issue and ensuring that our culture is inclusive of all people.”
However, not all of the paddock’s voices have been as encouraging. Drive to Survive on Netflix has made RB driver Daniel Ricciardo a fan favorite. He expressed his want for the situation to just end to the media. Naturally, you want things to go more smoothly than they do, remarked Ricciardo. “There is undoubtedly a lot of noise and distraction at the moment. As you can see from their performance last week, one of their other key strengths is their ability to maintain focus and stay on course with their business. Hopefully, these issues gradually fade away so they can concentrate solely on becoming a racing team.”
These are poor optics, especially considering that the employee’s suspension was announced on International Women’s Day and the first day of the F1 Academy season, which is aimed at helping aspiring female drivers break into the single-seater racing scene. The F1 Academy testing results showed that French wonder Doriane Pin was fastest, followed by Abby Pulling from Britain and Lia Block, an American who was the daughter of the late Ken Block, the star of the Gymkhana drifting videos.
