16 February 2024 , 06:00
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Christian Horner says Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez have been "incredible" after it emerged that an allegation of inappropriate behaviour had been made against him by a female colleague.
Horner strongly denies the allegation, but is currently the subject of an investigation by the Red Bull parent company. The 50-year-old met with an external investigator last week to give his side of the story, but has been allowed to continue working in the meantime as the CEO and team principal of Red Bull Racing.
He attended the launch of Red Bull's new car ahead of the 2024 season and spoke about the ongoing investigation at the event, thanking Verstappen, Perez and other key figures within the team for supporting him.
"My focus has been very much on the season ahead," he insisted. "It was great to see the car run for the first time at Silverstone, great to see the 20th edition of our Red Bull car unveiled today and so of course the process has been going on in the background but there's been a day job to be getting on with, which has very much been focused on gearing up for the season ahead of us.
"The support from within the business, of our partners, within the industry, has been overwhelming, so yeah, it's… you know obviously there's a process that's ongoing at the moment, some allegations have been made which I fully deny and I'm complying obviously with that process and will continue to do so until its conclusion."
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And when asked specifically if he had felt the support from Verstappen and Perez, Horner replied: "The whole team. The drivers, the team, the partners. The whole team have been incredible. Look we're one team, the support from the shareholders I've had has been fantastic.
"I think the support from the shareholders following the death of Dietrich Mateschitz… again you can see the commitment there is to Formula One, to Red Bull Powertrains, to advanced technologies… the track car we're producing with Adrian Newey. So yes, I think we're one team and that support has been very clear."
Horner says he has been feeling the support from both Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez (Seth Wenig/AP/REX/Shutterstock)Horner also insisted he remains fully committed to Red Bull, despite the ongoing situation. "No, not at all," he said when asked if the last few weeks had caused him to think about his future with the team.
"Absolutely not. I'm fully committed to this team, I've built this team, I've convinced people to come here and work here. I enjoy working with the team, with the people. The biggest asset of the team is the people and that continues to be the case.
"My commitment has always been absolute to this team and I think all of you who know me have hopefully seen that on the good days and the bad days. The commitment has always been to this team and for me, it's very personal this team because I've invested so much personally."
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