“No debate” about Christian Horner’s job in aftermath of investigation clearance

There was “no debate” about Christian Horner retaining his job as Red Bull F1 team principal after he was cleared of any wrongdoing following an internal investigation, according to Sky Sports reporter Craig Slater.

On Wednesday afternoon ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix, Red Bull announced that Horner was cleared of the alleged inappropriate conduct he was accused of by a female employee.

The news from Red Bull comes after a lengthy investigation where Horner was interviewed for several hours and a 150-page document was put together and sent to Red Bull’s top management in Austria.

It means F1’s longest serving team principal remains in charge of Red Bull on the eve of the new campaign.

Speaking shortly after the news that Horner will remain at Red Bull, Slater revealed that the 50-year-old’s future was never in question once he had been cleared.

“It’s worth reflecting how clear and emphatic it [the statement] is, in terms of the exoneration of Horner,” he said.

“My understanding is that there is no question, even in the aftermath of this, that there is any debate about Horner staying in his job. He is making his way here, and will be running the team this race weekend, and in the foreseeable future. No question about that.”

Giving his view on the situation, Martin Brundle added: “The parent company have drawn a thick and firm line under the matter. It does say that the complainant can take further action. But they are clear. They have done a deep investigation. We know they talked for hours, so clearly there was something to talk about. Horner has always strenuously denied wrongdoing.

“I found this a curious business - this is my 41st year in Formula 1 - we knew no facts about this. Lots of rumours, echoes, hear’say that swirls around. So you can’t comment or make any judgement because we had no information. We can now only go by the statement, and it looks like a line has been drawn underneath it.”

Slater also dismissed any suggestions that Horner would consider taking a break, with him making his way to Bahrain ahead of Thursday practice.

“It’s a very clear statement from Red Bull that the grievances against Horner have been dismissed,” Slater added.

“The team are advising me that there is absolutely no question about Horner either taking a break from the job, or stepping down from the job, in the aftermath of what has been personally an arduous week.

“We expect him here in Bahrain, and possibly his wife Geri, to attend the grand prix.”