The Red Bull Formula One team employee whose complaint sparked an investigation into alleged inappropriate behavior by team boss Christian Horner has been suspended, a person with knowledge of the move told The Associated Press on Thursday.
The person asked not to be identified because Red Bull has not disclosed details about the investigation. Red Bull did not immediately respond to inquiries from the AP seeking comment.
A week ago, Red Bull’s parent company dismissed the allegation of inappropriate conduct by Horner toward the female team employee. The company then said the employee had the right to appeal.
Horner declined to comment on the employee’s suspension Thursday when he appeared at a press conference in Jeddah ahead of this weekend’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
“I’m afraid I can’t comment on something that is confidential between an employee and the company, so I can’t give you anything on that,” he said.
The day after the complaint was dismissed, during the practice session prior to the Bahrain Grand Prix, a file containing the evidence against Horner was emailed to approximately 200 people in the F1 paddock, including Liberty Media, F1, the FIA, the heads of the other nine teams and multiple media outlets.
The authenticity of the file, which was sent from a generic email account, has not been verified by The Associated Press.
Also Thursday, Horner expressed confidence that reigning champion Max Verstappen will not leave Red Bull. Horner came out after being criticized by Verstappen’s father, Jos, who told Britain’s The Daily Mail after the Bahrain race that the team would “explode” if Horner remained in his post.
Verstappen noted Wednesday that his father “is not a liar,” but the Dutch driver also indicated that “I have no reason” to leave the team where he has won all three of his titles.
Horner said “conversations” were held following Verstappen’s victory in Bahrain, but did not go into detail.
“I spoke to Jos after the Grand Prix and obviously congratulated him on his son’s performance, and it seems to me that it’s in everyone’s collective interest going forward, focusing on the future,” Horner said.