Christian Horner continues to fight for his Formula One career following a string of allegations against the Red Bull team principal.
Here, the PA news agency looks at the key questions surrounding Horner, Red Bull, and the sport.
What were the accusations against Horner?
On February 5, Red Bull Racing’s parent company GmbH confirmed Horner was under investigation following an accusation of “inappropriate behaviour”. The company said it “takes these matters extremely seriously and the investigation will be completed as soon as practically possible”.
Horner denied the claim – made by a female colleague – and remained as team principal and CEO of the Milton Keynes-based team. It is understood the complainant also continued in her role.
How did Red Bull react?
Horner was questioned by a lawyer for eight hours at a secret London location. There was no immediate resolution and Horner subsequently appeared at Red Bull’s car launch on February 15.
He continued to dismiss the allegations. Horner then headed to Bahrain for last week’s three-day test before returning to England, while Red Bull’s Austrian board met to discuss his future.
What was the verdict?
On the eve of this weekend’s curtain raiser – and 23 days after it emerged Horner was under investigation – Red Bull GmBH said the grievance against the 50-year old had been dismissed.
The corporation said it was confident the investigation had been “fair, rigorous and impartial” but added that the report, understood to stretch to 150 pages, is “confidential”. However, a number of senior figures in the sport felt Red Bull’s probe lacked transparency.
So, what happened next?
Twenty-four hours later, a number of messages and images apparently exchanged between Horner and the complainant were sent from an anonymous email account to 149 members of the F1 paddock – including FIA president Mohammed ben Sulayem, F1 chief executive Stefano Domenicali and the grid’s nine other team principals, as well as members of the media.
What did Horner say?
Horner released a statement saying: “I will not comment on anonymous speculation, but to reiterate I have always denied the allegations.”
He was back in the paddock a day later for qualifying as Max Verstappen took pole position. There was speculation that another damning email leak against Horner would arrive on Friday – but it failed to materialise.
Will the FIA take any action?
It is understood the FIA explored bringing a disrepute charge against Horner – and assessed the legalities of seeking Red Bull to hand over its report – but no action has emerged.
Neither F1, nor its regulator, has commented publicly on the latest allegations. Horner met with both Domenicali and Ben Sulayem on Friday.
And what about Red Bull’s sponsors and partners?
There is thought to be considerable unrest and unease behind the scenes following the latest allegations to hit Horner – but there has been no public comment from Red Bull Racing’s two biggest partners – Ford and Oracle.
Will Horner be on the pit wall for Saturday’s race?
Yes. It is understood Horner remains defiant that he can see out the controversy.
His wife Geri Halliwell flew to Bahrain and could be trackside on Saturday, while Chalerm Yoovidhya, who owns 51 per cent of the Red Bull group, might also be in attendance.
Verstappen follows up sprint race win by taking pole at Miami Grand Prix
Max Verstappen continued to be critical of his own performance despite taking pole position for the Miami Grand Prix.
Verstappen, who won the sprint earlier on Saturday and had on Friday claimed pole in qualifying for that event, recorded a best time of 1:27.241 round the track in the final qualification session for Sunday's race.
The reigning Formula One world champion will share the front row with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, who like in the sprint, came second.
Leclerc's team-mate Carlos Sainz pipped Red Bull's Sergio Perez to third, while Lando Norris rounded out the top five.
Verstappen, though, was not particularly thrilled with his drive, continuing the trend after both qualifying on Friday and the sprint race.
He said: "We definitely improved the car a bit but I don’t know what it is but every single year we come here I find it extremely difficult to be very consistent with the car and tyre feeling over one lap. It’s super hard to make sure that Sector One feels good and Sector Three at the end of the lap to make that happen together is incredibly tough.
"Again today it was really about finding that balance, I think we did ok, it wasn't the most enjoyable lap out of my career especially with how slippery it is and you aren't very confident on the lap but we are on pole."
Leclerc said: "I felt so much on the limit. It was very close until Q3, where we started to push for the last one or two tenths. We started to lose the tyres in sector two and three, overheating them quite a bit. That's where we lost a little bit of time.
"However, the race is long and this morning we showed a good pace, so I hope tomorrow we can put Max under a bit more pressure."
Lewis Hamilton recovered from a 20-second penalty in the sprint race to qualify in seventh, one place behind Mercedes team-mate George Russell.
Verstappen clinches sprint victory at Miami Grand Prix, Hamilton hit with penalty
Formula One world champion Max Verstappen claimed victory in the sprint race ahead of the Miami Grand Prix.
Verstappen clinched pole for the sprint in Friday's qualifying session, and capitalised on that effort to finish ahead of Ferrari's Charles Leclerc on Saturday.
The Dutchman had to see off an early push from Leclerc, but ultimately had too much.
Sergio Perez, Verstappen's Red Bull team-mate, recovered from an early mistake to finish third.
Daniel Ricciardo took fourth, having fended off the challenge of both Carlos Sainz and Oscar Piastri.
It was a bad drive for Lewis Hamilton, who was penalised for speeding in the pit lane, dropping him from eighth down to 16th.
Red Bull designer Newey 'flattered' by Hamilton interest in Ferrari link-up
Adrian Newey acknowledged Lewis Hamilton's interest in working with him at Ferrari came as a flattering compliment for the outgoing Red Bull designer.
Hamilton will complete his switch to Ferrari next season as the Italian team managed to convince the seven-time world champion to leave Mercedes.
Newey will also be on the move early next year and is free to join a rival team ahead of the 2026 season.
Hamilton said working with Newey would be a "privilege", with one of the best designers in Formula One history at the top of his list of people to work with.
Those comments did not go unnoticed by Newey, who spoke to Sky Sports about a potential link-up with Hamilton ahead of the Miami Grand Prix on Sunday.
"F1 is all-consuming. I've been at it for a long time now," Newey said of his decision to leave Red Bull after joining the team in 2006.
"2021 was a really busy year because of the tight battle with Mercedes, through the championship and at the same time, putting all the research into the RB18 [the 2022 car].
"There comes a point where I just felt, as Forrest Gump said, 'I'm feeling a little bit tired'.
"It's very kind of Lewis to say that. I'm very flattered. At the moment, it's just take a bit of a break and see what happens next."
Newey's decision to part ways with Red Bull was announced on Wednesday, though the acclaimed designer says it has been on his mind for a while.
"A little while now. I guess over the winter a little bit," Newey said when asked about his intentions to depart.
"Then as events have unfolded this year, I thought, I'm in very lucky position where I don't need to work to live. I work because I enjoy it.
"I just felt now is a good time to step back a bit, take a break and take stock of life.
"Then maybe at some point I will stand in the shower and say 'right, this is going to be the next adventure'.
"But right now, there is no plan."
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