28 February 2024 , 09:41
880
0
Formula 1 pundit Martin Brundle believes that there are signs of disruption at Red Bull amid the investigation into Christian Horner's alleged 'inappropriate behaviour'.
The team principal and CEO of Red Bull's all-conquering F1 team has been the subject of an investigation for the past three weeks following accusations made by a female colleague, and a decision on his future is understood to be imminent ahead of this Saturday's season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix. Horner, 50, strongly denies the allegations and insists it's "business as usual."
But Brundle - who says that he knows "nothing" about the investigation - has taken a look at the wider ramifications for Red Bull and claims that there've been signs of disharmony ever since the death of Red Bull founder Dietrich Mateschitz in 2022. The pundit explained to Sky Sports: "I think the problem Red Bull have is that Dietrich Mateschitz was the final arbiter of any key decision and they followed him.
"He said jump, they said how high. So I think you're already seeing some of this - chaos is too strong a word - but disruption, let's call it, from that point on in 2022. Obviously, if you take Christian out of that loop, then a vacuum is always filled with other things, isn't it?
"And whether that would have the same effect [as Mateschitz's passing], but they've got momentum and they've got [Max] Verstappen. So I wouldn't be too worried about their immediate performance, but down the road, you'd have to say that that would create some challenges."
Pierre Gasly was allowed to leave AlphaTauri due to worries over his F1 future
The decision regarding Horner's future lies with Red Bull's Austrian parent company, Red Bull GmbH. With the investigation complete, It's been reported that chiefs at the energy drinks conglomerate now have their hands on a document which is well over 100 pages long, as well as a transcript of the interview Horner gave to a specialist barrister on February 9.
During Red Bull's season launch six days later, Formula 1's long-serving team principal affirmed: "It's business as usual. Obviously, I fully deny any accusations that have been made against me but of course I'll work with that process, which I hope is concluded in the near future.
Christian Horner is Formula 1's long-serving team principal, having started out with Red Bull in 2005 (Clive Mason/Getty Images)"I can't comment on what that process consists (of). I'm confident obviously in the process and working with the process and deny absolutely any allegations being made. I just continue to work within that process until it's concluded."
Verstappen, who's aiming to win a fourth successive world championship, was asked about the investigation during pre-season testing in Bahrain last week. "In terms of talking about that, it's not that somebody said here, you know, that I can speak about things," the Dutchman, 25, replied. "So it's better that, you know, I just focus on my own performance because that's already a day job, you know?
"But I guess, of course, for everyone, it's nice, of course, when things are resolved. But that's the only thing that I can say about that. You know, everyone who is here, you know, they're all focusing on the performance of the car as they should. Everyone knows their role. And, everyone is very focussed on trying to make the little package possible."