Red Bull Racing has apparently suspended the employee who accused Christian Horner of cross-border behavior this week
Red Bull Racing has suspended the employee whose allegations against Christian Horner were dismissed by Red Bull GmbH a week ago. This was revealed by research carried out by the English-language edition of Motorsport.com.
In contrast to what is reported in other media, the article does not refer to a dismissal, but only to a suspension. However, Horner does not explicitly confirm this: “I’m afraid I can’t comment on anything that is confidential between an employee and the company. I can’t say anything about it.”
The first media reports that the employee had been dismissed emerged on Wednesday. She is now said to be considering taking legal action against the dismissal. However, this information was not confirmed by a Red Bull representative when asked.
According to Motorsport.com, the employee was employed by Red Bull Racing until the beginning of the week, but is said to no longer have worked as Horner’s personal assistant. The team is now likely to have at least suspended the employment relationship.
Whether this move by Red Bull Racing also has the support of Oliver Mintzlaff, the CEO of Red Bull GmbH in Fuschl, is currently unknown.
Reports that Red Bull Racing has suspended the very woman who claims that her boss behaved in a transgressive manner towards her, and just before International Women’s Day on Friday, do not shed a good light on the world view of the Thai-Austrian beverage brand, at least from the outside.
Horner in the PK: “A complicated topic “
For Horner, the matter is “a complicated issue. Every large company has a complaints procedure. This process is confidential between the people involved and the company. Because of that confidentiality and out of respect for the company and, of course, the other party, I’m afraid I can’t say much. Even if I would like to talk about it: I can’t because of those confidentiality restrictions.”
“The only reason the matter has attracted so much attention is, of course, the leaking of information and the tensions that have arisen in the media, which has been very, very stressful in many ways, especially for my family, because everything has been focused in one particular direction.”
“And of course others tried to take advantage of it afterwards,” Horner insinuates, alleging a campaign against his person. “Unfortunately, Formula 1 is a highly competitive business. And of course there were also elements who wanted to profit from it. That is perhaps the not so nice side of our industry.”
Meanwhile, rumors are circulating in usually well-informed circles that the suspended employee is now considering reporting her boss’s behavior to the police and having the case investigated by the authorities.
Horner ignores question about sympathy for the woman
Horner answers the question of whether the whole affair has damaged his reputation and whether he has sympathy for the woman involved as follows: “It was a very difficult time. I am married and have three children. And when you factor in the children and scrutinize my marriage like that, I’m lucky to have a wonderful family and a very supportive wife. “
“I am the only one who has been named in this matter. It’s obviously very stressful and a big challenge. Because when children, families, parents and so on are involved, it’s not nice.”
“The reality is that there was a complaint that was made. It was handled by Red Bull GmbH, not Red Bull Racing, in a highly professional manner. The GmbH hired an independent lawyer who is one of the most respected lawyers in the country. He took the time to fully investigate all the facts. He interviewed everyone involved and other interested parties, he looked at everything, he had all the facts. And he came to the conclusion that he was dismissing the complaint.”
“As far as I’m concerned, as far as Red Bull is concerned, we’re moving on and looking to the future. My wife has been phenomenally supportive throughout, as has my family, but now it’s enough with the interference with my family. We need to look forward and focus on what we’re here for.”
