Christian Horner – latest: Red Bull F1 boss at Silverstone today for ‘secret’ event as he awaits fate

Christian Horner is at a shakedown event for Red Bull today at Silverstone – and is expected to be appear at the car launch on Thursday.

Red Bull are putting their new 2024 car through its paces during a secret shakedown event of the RB20 today at Silverstone.

Max Verstappen has driven the car this morning with Sergio Perez in the cockpit this afternoon.

It is thought the result of the investigation into the Red Bull boss could take weeks to be decided. The first race of the 2024 F1 season is on 2 March.

Christian Horner is currently scheduled to appear at Red Bull’s 2024 launch on Thursday, in an event being billed as a 20-year celebration of the team in Formula 1.

Red Bull won 21 out of 22 races in 2023 in their most successful year so far, with Max Verstappen storming to his third straight championship.

The first race of the 2024 F1 season – featuring a record 24 races – is on Saturday 2 March in Bahrain. Pre-season testing takes place in Bahrain a week earlier, starting on 21 February. Horner would be expected to be present at both.

It remains to be seen if the team principal will make an appearance given the ongoing investigation into his conduct.

If you want to follow Ferrari’s 2024 F1 car launch – taking place right now in Maranello – you can keep an eye on all the latest updates with our live blog below.

Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz are both present for the big reveal of the SF-24:

Christian Horner’s influence on Formula One – from the 31-year-old hotshot team principal in 2005 to unmissable mainstay of the paddock nearly 20 years on – is unquestionable. The Red Bull boss was tasked with a monumental mission when he was put in charge of the energy drink giant’s peculiar foray into the pinnacle of world motorsport in the mid-2000s. The castle he has built since has been stratospherically impressive.

Case in point was last year’s near-perfect season, winning 21 out of 22 races. It has all been, perhaps, even beyond his own lofty aspirations.

But it could all come crumbling down. As details emerged on Monday, Horner is now subject to an investigation by Red Bull’s parent company, Red Bull GmbH, after a complaint of “inappropriate behaviour” was made by a female colleague. Horner strongly denies the allegations.

Full piece below by Kieran Jackson:

The last three days have come and gone with no further updates on the allegations made against Christian Horner. Here are the facts as we understand them:

• Red Bull Formula One team boss Christian Horner attended a hearing on Friday after allegations about his conduct that have cast doubt on his future.
• Horner is currently awaiting the outcome of an investigation into “inappropriate behaviour” levelled against the Red Bull boss by a female colleague.
• Red Bull Racing and the Austrian energy drink parent company, who have not detailed the nature of the complaint, have remained tight-lipped.
• F1 insiders say they understood the hearing was held in London at an undisclosed location, rather than at the team’s Milton Keynes factory.
• Sky Sports have reported that the meeting with an independent barrister lasted almost eight hours.
• Red Bull are due to launch their 2024 F1 car on Thursday in Milton Keynes ahead of the new season.

Christian Horner is currently scheduled to appear at Red Bull’s 2024 launch on Thursday, in an event being billed as a 20-year celebration of the team in Formula 1.

Red Bull won 21 out of 22 races in 2023 in their most successful year so far, with Max Verstappen storming to his third straight championship.

The first race of the 2024 F1 season – featuring a record 24 races – is on Saturday 2 March in Bahrain. Pre-season testing takes place in Bahrain a week earlier, starting on 21 February. Horner would be expected to be present at both.

It remains to be seen if the Team Principal will make an appearance given the ongoing investigation into his conduct.

The 2013 revision of the Concorde Agreement that sets out the FIA’s regulations includes a ruling that entry fees for each competing team are determined by their success the season before.

A base fee of $657,837 (£521,691) is paid by all as a base fee, with an extra $6,575 (£5,214) per point on top. The Constructors’ Championship winners are hit even harder: Red Bull must pay $7,893 (£6,259) for each of their 860 points.

Here’s how much each team is set to pay.

Red Bull: $7,445,817 (£5,904,830)

Mercedes: $3,347,012 (£2,654,314)

Ferrari: $3,327,287 (£2,638,672)

McLaren: $2,643,487 (£2,096,391)

Aston Martin: $2,498,837 (£1,981,678)

Alpine: $1,446,837 (£1,147,400)

Williams: $841,937 (£667,690)

Visa Cash App RB: $822,212 (£652,047)

Stake: $763,037 (£605,119)

Haas: $736,737 (£584,261)

Daniel Ricciardo spent several seasons as a Red Bull driver and is now back in the team’s stable at the re-titled Visa Cash App RB team. Understandably not passing comment on the allegations made against his former principal Christian Horner, the Australian did admit that he felt like he was back “at home” after returning to the grid last season.

“Getting back into Red Bull and the family, I feel so much at home, so the truth is this is where I want to be,” Ricciardo told Reuters. “I am embracing it a lot more because a year ago I was unsure if I would race Formula One ever again …”

“Deep down I knew I wasn’t done but there was no guarantee I would be offered a seat again.

“I think it is a year when the team takes that step and (is) not seen as a Red Bull junior team anymore. It’s a team that is going to stand on its own two feet and hopefully make some noise.”

Christian Horner’s future as Red Bull F1 boss remains in the balance after he met with the lawyer in charge of the investigation into the team principal on Friday in London.

Horner has been accused of “inappropriate, controlling behaviour” by a female colleague and is currently at the centre of an investigation by the team’s parent company, Red Bull GmbH.

The 50-year-old, who has been in charge of Red Bull Racing since its inception in 2005, strongly denies the allegations levelled against him.

Speaking before the allegations were made, Christian Horner suggested that he expects a much more competitive season this year after Red Bull dominated the 2024 campaign.

“I couldn’t have imagined it in a million years,” Horner said of his team’s season, which saw Max Verstappen break records on his way to a third consecutive F1 crown.

“I don’t think we’ll ever see a repeat, certainly not in our lifetimes, of what we managed to achieve [last] year with a car that’s managed the kind of dominance of RB19 [the 2023 car].

“I’m fully expecting with stable regulations, [there’ll be] diminishing returns for us [this year] because I think we got to the top of the curve quicker than others.

“The field is going to converge. For us, it’s difficult to know who that will be. Will it be McLaren? Will it be Ferrari? Will it be Mercedes? It keeps moving around behind us. But that’s what we’re fully expecting going into [this] year.”

“There’s always a reset as you go into the following year. I’m convinced that you’ll see a lot more cars that look like the RB19 philosophy going into next year. If you stand still in this business, you tend to be going backwards. I think we have got up that curve quicker than others, but we’re into a law of diminishing returns.”