A defiant Christian Horner said he will not be forced out of Red Bull – and vowed to be in his post as team principal for the first Formula One race of the season.
Horner broke his silence on Thursday after an investigation was launched into an allegation of “inappropriate behaviour” against him by a female colleague.
The 50-year-old, speaking at Red Bull’s car launch in Milton Keynes, revealed he had been “overwhelmed” by messages of goodwill from within the sport, and said his wife, former Spice Girls singer Geri Halliwell, has been “very supportive”.
He also continued to emphatically deny the allegations made against him.
Asked if he will be in Bahrain for the first round of Max Verstappen’s championship defence on March 2, Horner replied: “Yes. I will be in Bahrain.
“The process has been going on in the background. Obviously, there’s been a day job to be getting on with, which is gearing up for the season ahead of us.
“I have a hugely supportive family, a very supportive wife. I have felt the support from within the business and our partners, and the support from within the industry has been overwhelming, too.
“I am confident in the process, which I have fully complied with and will continue to do so, and absolutely deny any of the allegations that have been made against me.
“For me, it is business as normal. If it wasn’t, I wouldn’t be here.”
Direct questions relating to the internal investigation launched by Red Bull Racing’s parent company Red Bull GmBH – which leaves Horner’s career in the balance – were strictly off-limits.
Horner has been in charge of the F1 team for two decades, but he insisted the investigation has not forced him to ponder resigning.
“Not at all, absolutely not,” said Horner when asked if he had considered his role as team principal and chief executive of the racing team.
“I am fully committed. I built this team. I convinced people to come and work here.
“I’ve been here since the beginning. There have been highs and lows along the way. We have won 113 races. We have won seven drivers’ world championships. We’ve won six constructors’ world championships in 19 seasons, and that’s in the history books.
“But it’s about what lies ahead, because that’s what’s important. So my focus is on the future.”
There had been a strong desire for Horner’s future to be concluded before Thursday’s presentation which marked the 20th anniversary of Red Bull’s involvement as a constructor in the sport.
Horner, who was quizzed by a lawyer for eight hours last Friday, said he did not know when the probe will be concluded.
There will be three days of testing, starting next Wednesday, in Bahrain ahead of the first race, also in the Gulf kingdom. And sources have indicated Horner could face further rounds of questioning as he bids to prove his innocence.
The investigation against Horner has undoubtedly overshadowed the world champions’ preparations for the forthcoming campaign.
Last year, Red Bull won all but one of the 22 races, with Verstappen taking his third world title in as many years.
But the Dutch driver, 26, said: “I don’t feel it (the investigation) has been a distraction.
“Everyone is very focused and very motivated. The spirit in the team has been fantastic. It’s been honestly better than ever.”
Pressed on his relationship with Horner, the triple world champion added: “It is very good.
“We’ve seen each other quite a few times. We’ve achieved a lot of things together so that doesn’t change suddenly.
“My contact with Christian has been the same as on the first day. It’s been like normal.”
Leclerc fastest in FP2 as Norris plays down chances of success in Baku
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc was cautious about his chances of winning two Formula 1 races in succession for the first time in his career despite going fastest in the second practice of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Leclerc recovered from a crash in the morning to set the pace in the afternoon, 0.006 seconds ahead of Red Bull's Sergio Perez and 0.066 seconds in front of Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes.
Championship leader Max Verstappen finished fifth, while his challenger Lando Norris struggled and languished in 17th after the second classification in Baku.
Despite going quickest, Leclerc admitted there were issues with his Ferrari car, leaving work to do if he wants to get pole position in Azerbaijan for a fourth successive year.
He said: "The thing is that when we started FP2 there was an actual problem on the car that we saw later on, once I stopped, and we changed that particular part.
"It's one of the tracks that I quite like, and we've been pretty quick in the past, but that doesn't mean it will be the case for tomorrow.
"I mean, the crash, there's not much to go into. I braked a little bit too much on the right, the track was still dirty, I locked up, and it was too late to go to the right [run-off] – so I went into the wall."
Norris endured a far more difficult afternoon, only mustering 17th after coming across Alpine's Pierre Gasly in the final sector when attempting his fastest lap.
The Brit cannot afford many slip-ups from now until the end of the season, as he looks to overhaul Verstappen's 62-point lead with eight races remaining, but was downbeat about McLaren's chances this weekend, believing they were lagging behind their competitive rivals.
"We're quite a long way off," Norris said.
"I’m having to push way too much to try and get a lap time out of it.
"Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull, they're all very similar. And then there's a good 0.3 to 0.4 second gap back to us, so a lot of work to do.
"Ferrari are very quick here. Mercedes will be quick with these track conditions. It's very slidey out there."
Perez says media lack understanding of Red Bull issues
Sergio Perez accused the media of lacking understanding regarding Red Bull's recent issues, as the team rediscovered their pace in Friday's first practice at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Red Bull looked set to dominate Formula One again after making a flying start to 2024, but McLaren have made it a fight for the constructors' championship crown.
Max Verstappen won seven of the first 10 races of the season but has since failed to record a victory in six outings, while Perez has gone 11 races without a podium finish after achieving four in the first five races of the year.
Red Bull rediscovered their pace at first practice in Baku on Friday, though, with Verstappen finishing fastest ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Perez following in third.
Speaking ahead of that session, Perez acknowledged he had suffered more than Verstappen from difficulties with the team's RB20 car, but said many onlookers lacked understanding.
"I've had them probably for the last 15 months, with the car development, the direction, the trajectory we've been taking," Perez said of his issues.
"I think it's a thing with the style of Max. The good thing is he was less sensitive to the issues we had, just by his nature.
"Some people don't understand it, especially from the media side, that different driver styles can come to different conclusions.
"Ten, 12 races ago, I was complaining about these issues, but now they are so big that even Max is feeling them. I think the solution will benefit me even more with my style.
"It's very clear in the data, the team is fully aware of it and hopefully we can fix the issues soon going forwards. Then we can unlock a lot of performance from the car."
Friday's opening session at the Baku street circuit – where Perez is the only driver with multiple victories – saw Verstappen set a leading time of 1:45:546 on his last lap.
A chaotic session saw three red flags waved, with Charles Leclerc causing one of them when he hit a wall at Turn 15.
Williams rookie Franco Colapinto also hit a barrier less than 10 minutes after the session resumed, with the running also being paused to allow the removal of debris from a dusty surface.
McLaren's Lando Norris had the fourth-fastest time, with Carlos Sainz in fifth and Oscar Piastri sixth, ahead of Fernando Alonso and George Russell.
Norris targets drivers' championship win by 'fighting and battling' Verstappen
Lando Norris wants to try and topple Max Verstappen in the drivers' championship on merit, despite McLaren confirming they will prioritise the Briton over Oscar Piastri.
Norris, who is currently 62 points behind Verstappen ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix this weekend, is looking to bounce back from his second-place finish in Monza.
The Dutchman has not won in his last six Grand Prix's, which is his worst run since the end of the 2020 season, but Norris has only closed the gap to him by seven points in the standings.
McLaren's team principal Andrea Stella revealed the team would "bias" their operations towards Norris as they seek to win the drivers' and constructors' titles this season.
"I don't want to be given a championship," Norris started.
"Yes, it would be great to have a championship, and in the short term you feel amazing, but I don't think you'd be proud of that in the long run.
"It's not how I want to win a championship."
Norris has shown his ability to challenge the three-time world champion on track this season, with the Briton finishing on the podium 10 times so far.
The pair also locked horns at the Austrian Grand Prix, with Norris and Verstappen colliding on lap 64, forcing the former to retire in what could prove to be a pivotal moment in deciding who claims the drivers' championship.
Norris needs to gain an average of just under eight points a weekend over the remaining eight Grand Prix's to beat Verstappen to the title but wants to do it the right way.
"I want to win it by fighting against Max and beating Max, beating my competitors and proving I'm the best on track. That's how I want to race," Norris said.
But both Norris and Piastri played down the idea the Australian might be asked to sacrifice a win for his team-mate.
Norris said: "Probably not. In general, probably for lower positions, but if he's fought for a win and he's deserving of a win, then he deserves to win.
"Oscar is still fighting for his own racing, he's still going out and doing his stuff. And it could be that there's no time this year that he needs to help me.
"It's more that I've got Oscar's help when needs be, but he's still going out with that intent of every session of fighting for himself."
"The team have asked me to help out, and I've said for the last few races that if I was asked, then I would," Piastri added.
"Of course, naturally, as a driver, it's never an easy thing or a simple thing to agree to. But again, there's a much bigger picture in play than just myself.
"It still needs some more discussions, but the main point is it's not just going to be me pulling over for Lando every race because that's how none of us, including Lando, want to race.
"Trying to go through all the scenarios is impossible. We don't want to discuss that publicly, but the main one is if we feel one has done a much better job on a weekend, whichever way it is, we want that person to be rewarded.
"And that's where it becomes a little bit tricky still."
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