Bernie Ecclestone has denied reports in the media that in the midst of the ongoing investigation in to his conduct he advised Christian Horner to step down as team boss at Red Bull.

An already intriguing, but utterly confusing, case has taken a further twist as the former F1 supremo took to social media.

"To clarify reports by newspapers that I had urged or suggested that Christian Horner should step down from his position in Red Bull is entirely UNTRUE," Ecclestone posted on Instagram, his post being subsequently shared by his wife, Fabiana, the FIA Vice-President for Sport.

The claim that Ecclestone had advised Horner to step down came from the German media, whilst it was the Dutch media that originally broke the story of the investigation into Horner's conduct.

As the investigation continues, it is not known exactly what Horner is accused off or where the accusation comes from, but that hasn't prevented some wild speculation.

Once the British media latched on to the story - it's main interest being Horner's wife, a former Spice Girl, who in the greater scheme of things is more famous than her husband - the speculation centred on the possibility of Horner acting improperly towards a female employee, however the focus subsequently switched to his attitude and talk of bullying.

Indeed, Russian F1 commentator Alexey Popov claims the allegations centre on how Horner spoke to a female employee, dismissing all talk of harassment and improper conduct.

Clearly referring to talk of a behind the scenes power struggle that has come in the wake of Dietrich Mateschitz's death in 2022, Ecclestone said: "They want to overthrow him. He has achieved enormous success and has made incredible efforts not only for the team, but also for the sport.

"Apart from keeping his head down, my advice to Christian is to do nothing and wait and see what happens," he is quoted as saying by AFP. "I am in close contact with him.

"The problem is that when you succeed, you make a lot of enemies. What I hope is that someone will talk to him and the woman individually and everything will be worked out."

LATEST NEWS

more news >

LATEST IMAGES

galleries >

Click to go to the main galleries section

READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by kenji, 16/02/2024 0:28

"@Brighton Corgi...I fully concur with your sentiments. In the pressure cooker climate of the leading F1 team it's obvious that some people may take offence at executive decisions etc when it comes to managing the team and getting the results. If this in any way relates to to the recently introduced woke cultures then it would appear to be a possible manufactured response. What we would we give for some enlightening details."

Rating: Neutral (0) Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

2. Posted by BrightonCorgi, 15/02/2024 12:43

"Horner is in a better position today to the uninformed than earlier this week when the Eccelstone story first came out. Using curt language or being a douche boss is hardly reasons for dismissal.

I'll give him the benefit or the doubt until everything is on the table. "

Rating: Neutral (0) Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

3. Posted by @R1Racing71, 15/02/2024 9:18

"This whole thing is a stitch up."

Rating: Neutral (0) Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

4. Posted by JamesD, 14/02/2024 22:00

"Red Bull Austria HQ deemed the situation serious enough for an investigation. It doesn't matter whether the complainant is female, male, non-binary, trans etc. "

Rating: Positive (4) Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

5. Posted by Tardis40, 14/02/2024 18:39

""The complaints made against him are understood to have been described as relating to “controlling” behaviour."

Isn't he the one person in control? The complaining female needs to go. We don't need to sow any seeds of discontent."

Rating: Positive (2) Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

Ecclestone denies Horner media claim

LATEST NEWS

RELATED ARTICLES

LATEST IMAGES

POST A COMMENT

Post your comment

READERS COMMENTS

Share this page