Christian Horner "absolutely" sure he’ll still be Red Bull boss at F1 Bahrain GP

Christian Horner is “absolutely” confident he will remain in his post as Red Bull team principal for the F1 season-opener despite being subject to an ongoing investigation into alleged inappropriate behaviour.

Horner made his first public appearance since accusations of controlling behaviour were made against him by a female colleague as Red Bull launched their 2024 car on Thursday.

The 50-year-old has repeatedly and strenuously denied the allegations and has continued to work as normal for Red Bull while the internal investigation is ongoing.

Horner confirmed he will be in the F1 paddock next week for pre-season testing in Bahrain.

When asked if he was confident he will still be Red Bull’s team boss heading into the new season, Horner told ESPN: "Yeah, absolutely.

"Obviously there's a process that's ongoing. I'm very focused on the season ahead.”

Speaking in a wider media session, Horner admitted the inquiry had been “a distraction” but insisted it was “business as normal”.

"Inevitably there has been a distraction but the team are very together," he added.

"Everybody is focused on the season ahead, so it's been very much business as normal. The support has been fantastic.”

He added: "I'm very focused on the season ahead. Great to see the new car launched today and I'm looking forward to seeing it run in Bahrain next week. It's business as normal.

"I think everybody's keen to get to a conclusion, but there's a process that has to be respected, that's only right, and in the fullness of time that will be completed.”

Horner also stressed he has the full backing of Red Bull’s owners, despite reports to the contrary.

"We're very united,” he said. “We’ve always had tremendous support from the shareholders since Dietrich [Mateschitz]’s passing.

“The shareholders have been incredibly supportive, and you can see the level of investment there is on campus here with powertrains, with the future of Formula 1, that we're one team."