Christian Horner ‘absolutely’ expects to remain in charge after claims of inappropriate behaviour

Red Bull boss Christian Horner has said he “absolutely” expects to remain in charge for next week’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

The team principal told Sky Sports F1 that Red Bull is a “very strong team” after reigning world champion Max Verstappen and his teammate Sergio Perez came first and second in Saturday’s Bahrain Grand Prix – the first race of the season.

He said: “We have got tremendous support, tremendous partners and great shareholders behind us as well.

“You don’t achieve this kind of result by not being united.”

Horner was asked if he expects to still be in charge in Jeddah after a tumultuous week to which he replied: “Yes, absolutely. I wouldn’t be here otherwise.”

The 50-year-old watched the podium ceremony with his wife, former Spice Girl Geri Horner, after hundreds of WhatsApp messages reported to have been part of Red Bull’s recent probe were leaked.

He was placed under investigation following allegations of inappropriate behaviour towards a female colleague but has since been cleared.

Horner has always denied the claims.

The couple, who married in 2015, walked hand-in-hand and shared a kiss at the Grand Prix but Horner later admitted the past few days had “not been pleasant”.

“I have the support of an incredible family, an incredible wife, an incredible team and everybody within that team,” he said.

“And my focus is going racing, winning racing and doing the best I can.

“It was a day about starting the season in the best possible way. My focus is on this team, my family, my wife and racing.”

Earlier, Formula One world champion Max Verstappen suggested his boss is “probably a little bit distracted” following the reports.

Asked about the leaked messages after he took pole position in qualifying on Saturday, Verstappen said: “It’s not our business.

“When I look at how Christian operates within the team, he has been an incredible team boss, so absolutely from the performance side of things, you can’t even question that.

“So that’s what I am also dealing with. I speak to Christian a lot, and also of course throughout the weekend here he is fully committed to the team.

“He’s also here for the performance, of course probably a little bit distracted, but like I said before, we just focus on the performance things and that’s how we all work together.”

The messages were leaked to numerous media organisations and F1 team principals from an anonymous email account, but have not been confirmed as genuine.

Horner subsequently released a statement, saying: “I won’t comment on anonymous speculation but to reiterate, I have always denied the allegations.

“I respected the integrity of the independent investigation and fully co-operated with it every step of the way.

“It was a thorough and fair investigation conducted by an independent specialist barrister and it has concluded dismissing the complaint made. I remain fully focused on the start of the season.”

Ahead of this weekend’s race, president of the FIA, Mohammed ben Sulayem said any complaint lodged with its compliance officer would be investigated but it had not received one relating to Horner’s situation and would not “jump the gun”, according to the Financial Times.

“It’s damaging the sport,” ben Sulayem told the newspaper. “This is damaging on a human level.”

Horner had been questioned for eight hours by a lawyer on 9 February.

Red Bull confirms grievance dismissed

In a statement, Red Bull said: “The independent investigation into the allegations made against Mr Horner is complete, and Red Bull can confirm that the grievance has been dismissed.

“The complainant has a right of appeal. Red Bull 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.

“Red Bull will continue striving to meet the highest workplace standards.”

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Horner has said his wife has been “very supportive” during the process. He also revealed he had been “overwhelmed” by messages of goodwill from within the sport.

He has been Red Bull team principal since they entered Formula One 19 years ago and is the longest-serving boss on the grid.

During that period he has overseen the team win seven drivers’ world championships and six constructors’ titles.