Team principal Christian Horner cleared of internal charges at Red Bull before F1 season

The case, which was brought to the attention of the F1 team earlier this year and which surfaced on February 5th, is not legal and will not include a tribunal, but Horner was part of an investigation by an unnamed British barrister.

An extensive document that is reported to run more than 100 pages, was sent to Red Bull GmbH earlier this week, and they have cleared the team principal of all wrongdoing.

Red Bull GmbH said in a statement: “The independent investigation into the allegations made against Mr Horner is complete, and Red Bull can confirm that the grievance has been dismissed. The complainant has a right of appeal.

"Red Bull is confident that the investigation has been fair, rigorous and impartial. The investigation report is confidential and contains the private information of the parties and third parties who assisted in the investigation, and therefore we will not be commenting further out of respect for all concerned. Red Bull will continue striving to meet the highest workplace standards.”

The statement said the complainant had the right to appeal.

Horner, who has been with the outfit since 2004, flew back to Bahrain on Wednesday from Austria, where he will lead the team from Thursday as the 2024 season gets underway.

The case has slightly overshadowed Red Bull's preparations for the new season, with staff and drivers staying tight-lipped on the subject throughout the course of the last month.

They will hope for more of the same after a dominant 2023, where lead driver Max Verstappen (26) strolled to the driver's championship with 19 out of the 22 races and they also picked up their sixth constructor's championship.