The Christian Horner texting scandal that split Red Bull
F1
Allegations of inappropriate behaviour made against Red Bull F1 team boss Christian Horner were dismissed twice, but heralded a series of big-name departures from the team, and ultimately his sacking
Could Christian Horner's Red Bull tenure come to a scandalous end?
Red Bull was riding on the back of drivers’ and teams’ world titles. It was the reigning constructors’ champion, it had arguably the best driver on the grid, and it also employed Formula 1‘s best engineer.
At its heart was a tight-knit group comprised of team boss Christian Horner, legendary designer Adrian Newey, and influential advisor Helmut Marko, who had steered the team from its very earliest days into the most dynamic team on the grid. They had been joined by the Verstappens: superstar Max and his father, former Benetton F1 driver Jos.
Together they conquered all before them. Then, in February 2024, the core imploded, with effects that are still reverberating today following Christian Horner’s sacking.
The bombshell allegations of inappropriate behaviour against Horner by a female employee were made public just before pre-season testing and rocked the very foundations of the team. Rifts opened up between the pillars of Red Bull, with Marko and the Verstappens taking against the team principal.
Horner, who had led the team since its inception in 2005, appeared isolated as private messages apparently between him and the accuser were leaked — a scene captured in the latest series of Drive to Survive — and Marko, the mastermind of Red Bull’s junior programme, emerged as a suspect in the leaking.
Marko stated that he might be suspended and was backed by Max Verstappen, who pledged his loyalty to him. If Marko went, the then-three-time world champion said he would too.
Jos Verstappen had his say on the situation
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The Horners put on a display of solidarity at the season-opening race in Bahrain, marching through the paddock with his wife, Geri Halliwell, but the tension was far from behind the scenes, as a video of emerged of him apparently arguing with Jos Verstappen.
Then came a direct challenge to his authority from Jos, who called for Horner to go after the Bahrain race. “There is tension here while he remains in position,” Jos told The Daily Mail. “The team is in danger of being torn apart. It can’t go on the way it is. It will explode. He is playing the victim, when he is the one causing the problems.”
A Red Bull-commissioned investigation cleared Horner but the parent company’s Austrian CEO Oliver Mintzlaff, had to weigh in to defuse the situation. This brought relative calm to the team, but only for a few weeks.
Unmistakeable evidence that the edifice was crumbling came with the shock announcement in May that Newey would be leaving the team. That was followed soon after by sporting director Jonathan Wheatley and then strategy chief Will Courtenay: three figures who had been central to the team from the start.
This coincided with a dip in form at the team, an issue that 2024 Red Bull driver Sergio Perez recently highlighted: “When Adrian Newey left, I think, that’s when a lot more problems started,” he told the Desde el Paddock podcast.
Horner cleared by Red Bull over ‘inappropriate behaviour’
Horner was ultimately exonerated for a second time over allegations of inappropriate behaviour. He was cleared by an independent King’s Counsel barrister in February 2024 after the claims were made at the end of 2025, then remained hanging over Horner when his accuser appealed his decision. A second investigation, carried out by another King’s Counsel has recommended that the appeal be dismissed in August last year.
“All stages of the appeal process have now been concluded, with the final outcome that the appeal is not upheld,” said Red Bull in a statement.
“The KC’s conclusions have been accepted and adopted by Red Bull. Red Bull is committed to continuing to meet the highest workplace standards.”
Timeline of the sexting scandal
A complaint was lodged against Horner in December 2023 and became public in February 2024, days before pre-season testing. By this time an investigation, carried out by a barrister, was underway. Horner denied the allegations, but the issue overshadowed pre-season testing in Bahrain.
It was also making sponsors nervous: Ford’s CEO wrote to Red Bull, expressing frustration at the time the investigation was taking and “the lack of full transparency”.
By the following week, as teams prepared for the first race of the season, also in Bahrain, Red Bull had announced that Horner had been cleared by the lawyer. Although an appeal was lodged, the team principal flew to the Middle East with his Halliwell in a show of unity. But on the Saturday before the race, the scandal erupted again with the leaking of a trove of WhatsApp messages, that had allegedly been sent between him and the complainant.
The contents were not verified, but intensified calls for Red Bull to release more details about the investigation into Horner’s conduct. Horner refused to comment “on anonymous, speculative messages from an unknown source,” and leant on the findings of Red Bull’s investigation. “There was a full internal process that was completed by an independent KC,” he said. “And the grievance that was raised was dismissed. End of. Move on.”
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Motor Sport
The fallout continued in the run-up to the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, with Horner meeting Verstappen’s manager, following meetings with both FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem and F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali over the Bahrain GP weekend to discuss the matter.
Other team managers called for more information, given the efforts being made by F1 and teams to make the paddock less hostile to female staff. “As a sport, we can’t afford to leave things vague and opaque on critical topics like this,” said Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff. “It’s going to catch us out.”
McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown said that the matter should be investigated by the FIA. “The sanctioning body has a responsibility and authority to our sport and fans,” he said. “They need to make sure that things have been fully transparent with them, that they come to the same conclusion that has been given by Red Bull and they they agree with the outcome. Until then, there will continue to be speculation because there are a lot of unanswered questions about the whole process.”
Geri Horner appearing with husband Christian in a show of solidarity before Bahrain race
Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto Via Getty
At the next race weekend in Saudi Arabia, more controversy ensured when it emerged that Helmut Marko may be under investigation in relation to the leaked WhatsApp messages.
He then appeared to confirm this in an interview. “I’ll put it this way, it’s difficult to judge, or let’s put it this way, ultimately, I’ll decide for myself what I do,” he said. “The theoretical possibility [of being suspended] always exists.”
Tensions heightened when Max Verstappen was questioned on the Marko situation. “If such an important pillar falls away, that’s not good for my situation as well,” said the Dutchman.
Christian Horner’s dismissal well and truly marks the end of a wildly successful era for Red Bull. Mark Hughes examines how the team started to crumble
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Mark Hughes
“My loyalty to [Marko] is very big. I’ve always expressed this to everyone within the team, everyone high up, that he’s an important part in my decision-making for all the time in the future as well within the team.”
“It was very impressive. I am very grateful to him for that,” said Marko in response. “But he is one of the few who has strength of character and shows loyalty.”
The divisions within Red Bull were thought to have been exacerbated by division between the Austrian and Thai sides of Red Bull’s parent company (Red Bull GmbH), with many believing that it illustrated a wider battle for supremacy in the energy drinks company, following the death of co-founder Dietrich Mateschitz in 2022.
Red Bull GmbH in Austria was rumoured to want Horner out, while the Thai side displayed its full support for the man who has been team principal for the entirety of the squad’s existence.
Verstappen has stated his loyalty to Marko
Red Bull
By August 2024, the string of big-name departures had begun and Horner was cleared a second time, expressing his relief that Red Bull had concluded its process.
What was Christian Horner accused of?
Horner will face an internal hearing for ‘inappropriate behaviour’
Red Bull
Red Bull never confirmed the accusations made against its team boss, but Motor Sport understands, from various sources, that the claims related to allegations of inappropriate and controlling behaviour.
The complainant is a team employee, hence Red Bull’s decision to look into the matter, with the investigation led by an external lawyer.
Horner denied the allegations in full since they first became public on February 5 2024 after a report emerged in Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf.
What is controlling behaviour?
According to the Home Office’s official statutory guidance framework, controlling or coercive behaviour is a “intentional pattern of conduct” in which perpetrators will “use various means to hurt, humiliate, intimidate, exploit, isolate and dominate their victims.”
There are many different behaviours which fall under this conduct, including: physical and sexual violence/abuse, violent behaviour, emotional or psychological abuse, controlling behaviours, restrictive behaviours and threatening behaviours.
