Drive to Survive shows how Christian Horner found out about 'bombshell' alleged messages
The new season of Netflix's Drive to Survive F1 show features several big revelations.
The moments Red Bull team principal Christian Horner learned of alleged messages being sent around the F1 paddock has been captured by Drive to Survive.
Horner was dragged into a scandal which dominated the start of the 2024 F1 season after he was accused of coercive, abusive behaviour and sexual harassment by a female employee.
Red Bull GmbH launched an investigation which ultimately cleared the team principal of wrongdoing on the eve of the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix.
Just 24 hours later, an anonymous email containing a number of alleged WhatsApp messages between Horner and the employee was sent to members of the media, including Crash.net, and other members of the F1 paddock.
The controversy surrounding Horner is featured in the seventh season of Netflix’s hit F1 documentary show Drive to Survive, which releases on 7 March ahead of the upcoming 2025 season.
The scandal is foreshadowed at the start of the new series, when, during a conversation about Red Bull’s success in 2023, Horner’s wife Geri Halliwell-Horner tells him: "The truth is, you never know what life's going to bring."
Addressing the allegations in Drive to Survive, Horner says: "The higher you rise, the sharper the knives. I'd reached the top of my game and I never thought in a million years I'd have a challenge like this in my career.
"It's a crucial time of the year, and the job that I do, you're the front face of the organisation. You can either hide away or you can get out there and face it.”
How Horner learned about alleged messages
Horner describes the moment he found out about the alleged messages.
"At the end of the second practice, suddenly my phone starts getting messages and this, that and the other,” he explains. “There’s a bombshell that's dropped with a bunch of alleged messages.
"It was obviously premeditated to cause me the maximum amount of distraction, the maximum amount of aggravation.”
Horner is captured insulting McLaren CEO Zak Brown while walking back to Red Bull’s hospitality in the Bahrain paddock after his F1 rival called for transparency over the investigation.
"Well, you find out who your friends are don't you?” Horner states.
Ahead of the grand prix on Sunday, Horner and his wife walked into the paddock hand in hand with cameras following their every move in a what was an apparent show of solidarity.
The allegations led to calls for Horner to step down from his position and caused political turbulence within the Red Bull camp, resulting in tension between Horner and Max Verstappen’s father, Jos.
“It was obvious that the end goal was for me to leave Red Bull,” Horner adds.
Lewis regularly attends Grands Prix for Crash.net around the world. Often reporting on the action from the ground, Lewis tells the stories of the people who matter in the sport.
