Former Formula One leader Bernie Ecclestone has allegedly advised Christian Horner to resign from his roles as CEO and team principal of Red Bull Racing.
This advice follows allegations of misconduct by Horner towards a member of his team. The 50-year-old, celebrated for clinching consecutive constructors championships, has refuted these accusations.
Currently, he is facing an investigation by the parent company of Red Bull, having presented his side to an independent investigator last Friday.
With the team’s season opener on February 15 looming, it appears unlikely that this matter will be resolved beforehand. Ecclestone, aged 93, is believed to have recommended Horner’s departure to “prevent further harm to himself and his family,” as per a report by F1 Insider.
Regardless of the outcome of the investigation, this situation poses a potential distraction for Red Bull as they prepare for the 2024 season.
Despite the ongoing controversy regarding Horner’s position, the team continues to be seen as front-runners, largely due to Max Verstappen securing three consecutive world titles, underscoring their recent dominance in the sport.
Furthermore, Adrian Newey, the Chief Technical Officer, has expressed optimism regarding their latest RB20 vehicle, as he mentioned on the Talking Bull podcast; “Our car will be very much a third evolution of the ’22 car.
“Last year’s car was an evolution of the ’22, the main points [of difference] being the normal winter development in terms of aerodynamics and some understanding on what we needed to do with suspension to try to improve the car as well, and getting weight out of it because we never got down to the weight limit in ’22.
“This year’s car is the third evolution of that original RB18. Now what we don’t know, of course, is the third evolution too conservative while others have done something different? You just don’t know.
“There is that [dilemma] of: should we have a group that goes out and looks at completely left-field ideas, or do we keep developing the route we’ve taken? We’re resource limited, so we can’t do everything.
“We can’t look at every avenue, so we’ve taken the approach of developing what we’ve got. Hopefully that’ll be the prudent thing.”
