The woman who has accused Christian Horner of inappropriate behaviour is understood to have now lodged a complaint with the FIA.

Her complaint to Red Bull was dismissed following an investigation by an independent Kings Counsel, but in the days that followed as various parties, including F1, the FIA, Ford, Honda and rival team bosses, expressed unease at the lack of transparency, the woman was suspended from her job with the Austrian team.

As the saga rumbled on, taking on numerous further twists and drawing more and more people in to the mess, the woman took her complaint to the sport's governing body.

According to the BBC, there have been two complaints made by the woman to the FIA's ethics and compliance hotline, the first, on 2 February, referring to Horner's behaviour towards a her, and a second on 6 March warning that unless the matter was investigated a whistle-blower would inform the media.

"All Enquiries and complaints are received and managed by the compliance officer, and the ethics committee where appropriate," said the FIA in a statement.

"Both bodies operate autonomously, guaranteeing strict confidentiality throughout the process.

"As a consequence, and in general, we are unable to confirm the receipt of any specific complaint and it is unlikely that we will be able to provide further comment on the complaints that we may receive from any parties."

As Red Bull team boss, Horner is subject to the FIA's International Sporting Code, and Article 12.2.1.c which states that: "Any fraudulent conduct or any act prejudicial to the interests of any competition or to the interests of motor sport generally."

Furthermore, Article 12.2.1.f, will be seen as being appropriate in this case as it covers: "Any words, deeds or writings that have caused moral injury or loss to the FIA, its bodies, its members or its executive officers, and more generally on the interest of motor sport and on the values defended by the FIA".

Despite Horner's presence at the opening two races, this is clearly not going to go away, and amidst talk that the root cause of the matter is a power play, with the likes of Adrian Newey, Max Verstappen and Helmut Marko in the same camp, it is beginning to look ominous for the Briton.

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by kenji, 21/03/2024 2:02

"@Spindoctor....Your final sentence I fully agree with. However the very fact that something that was 'alleged' to have occurred has been investigated by an eminent legal representative and found to be without substance and subsequently dismissed. To me that is where the issue lies and until proven to be incorrect I will support the status quo. I would suggest that you read the comments made by Leo Turrini. I concur with him ATPIT."

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2. Posted by Spindoctor, 20/03/2024 10:18

"This whole business gets more sordid by the day.
We have been presented with an accusation that someone in a position of power & authority has attempted to take advantage of someone of lower rank in the company. If it is true, this would be a serious matter. & demand, in the very least an apology from the guilty party.

Sadly in this instance it seems pretty clearly also to be tied to some kind of corporate power play. The key issue is whether this woman is *part* of whatever scheme might be playing-out, or is she merely an unwitting additional victim where someone has seized on her complaint as an opportunity to further their own ends?

I think the most depressing part of all this is that it seems perfectly feasible that whatever the rights or wrongs of the original complaint, this situation has become an all-out attack on Horner's role at RBR"

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3. Posted by Editor, 19/03/2024 13:12

"@ equator180

I have opined similar thoughts elsewhere.

Having only seen a couple of the leaked messages I wondered why the accuser didn't put a stop to the situation right at the start. However, I was told that in subsequent messages she did.

That said, if she objected and they continued she should have made it much clearer, leaving absolutely zero room for doubt.

Then again, according to some, the accuser has links to another 'player' in this sorry saga, and if true this adds a whole new dimension, for amidst talk that the whole 'affair' is part of a power play, once could surmise that in not demanding an immediate end to the messages - or else - Horner was being drawn into some sort of 'honey trap' to the benefit of one or some of those involved in the alleged power play."

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4. Posted by kenji, 19/03/2024 12:49

"@Equator180....Good post. from what I understand the eminent and independent KC leading the investigation was not only able to see and test the documented messaging but he also interviewed many different personnel over an extended period. This was not one days work. When his line of questioning was complete one can only assume that the total evidence was examined,distilled and a judgement/ recommendation was made. This is my experience of how these things work having been involved quite some time ago in an attempt to shake down my company by way of a disgruntled employee levelling 'sexual harassment and unfair dismissal' charges against one my most senior executives. They failed and we closed the case down but it was tough going,believe me ,and this was before the 'me too' movement even existed!!!"

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5. Posted by kenji, 19/03/2024 12:29

"@Pavlo.... you make some sensible and unemotional comments there. Who ever leaked the original complaint to the media is/are the /s bringing the 'sport' into disrepute. The second leak also escalates the public exposure and is an attempt to influence original decisions by way of introducing a different line of enquiry. With what I've seen and read to date does not call for a hanging offence. I say once again that IMO concentrate on the leakers and their motive and then we'll see a different picture emerge......maybe."

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6. Posted by Pavlo, 19/03/2024 10:47

"@Ricardo_sanchez
1. "Bringing sport to disrepute" is too strong even if CH found guilty. FIA failing to investigate would be a disrepute for a sport, personal breach by one person, if proven, would barely mean that person should face consequences. I even see it good for the F1 image if it facilitates proper investigation and prosecution.
Press will try to create "scandal" of everything, but it doesn't mean that there is actually a scandal.
2. Of course RB appoints and pays the fee for the case between two employees of RB(!). Investigation should be independent from said 2 employees, not RB as a company. If one of the employees had a way to influence it - this is a big failure for RB.
But of course employee can escalate higher.
3. I don't know for sure. Still, she had right to appeal, where findings will be demanded... if relevant at all.
4. "Neither confirm nor deny" is a proper response for confidentiality cases. "No comments to press" as well.
5. "Fabricated" is a serious claim, that must be appropriately proven. It's possible, that documents can't be proven neither fabricated nor genuine.
6. Transparent + confidential is a good combination.

In such a case, everything that RB and CH officially says can be used against them. Stating that something is fake (before proven by court), as well as any accidental (!) statement, can bring big troubles. Why should they risk?"

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7. Posted by equator180, 19/03/2024 9:15

"Seems there is a very diverse opinion base here. It just amazes me that there were a number of text messages going back and forth over a period of time. "I think" as I haven't read the time line but only base that on opinions here. If this is so when did the dirty deed take place or is she saying the whole thing was a dastardly deed only a devil would construct? Was she complacent or not, she did reply if I read it properly, it just wasn't CH texting her 50 times a day grooming her, or was it? personal opinion, this kind of exchange takes two and if there is guilt, she should bare half of the blame. Hopefully Max is not a chip off the off the block of his father and over plays his hand, it could be worth a life full of regret. Move on, I think this woman got some bad advice...from ???"

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8. Posted by Ricardo_sanchez, 18/03/2024 16:22

"@pavlo

- The scandal itself is bringing F1 into disrepute, regardless of the accuracy of the allegations made against CH. We cannot assign blame to any party as we don't yet know whether the allegations are true or not.

- If RB appointed and paid the KC's fee, then the independence of the investigation is questionable.

- The investigation's findings haven't been made accessible to the complainant, limiting her ability to challenge the conclusions.

- While confidentiality is important, CH/RB silence on the authenticity of leaked messages only fuels speculation.

- Clarifying whether any parts of the leaked docs were fabricated could significantly mitigate public debate and restore trust.

- A more transparent and independent approach would help uphold the integrity of the sport.

As you say, let's see what the FIA investigation brings. "

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9. Posted by Tardis40, 18/03/2024 16:15

"Waah"

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10. Posted by Pavlo, 18/03/2024 10:57

"I generally agree with @kenji, RB didn't put F1 into disrepute. CH as well, so far.
According to ethics legal principles, everyone should be given a possibility to complain, this should be investigated and should be confidential. And of course accused person should have possibility to defend and is innocent unless proven guilty.
What would put the F1 to disrepute - failure to investigate. Another issue is breach of confidentiality. With thousands people employed in all F1 entities, you can't really expect no cases at all, but you can't automatically assume everyone guilty, no matter how high position is.
@Ricardo_sanchez - considering confidentiality requirements, I am not sure RB/CH are allowed to provide details. So the existing statement that "CH is cleared from accusations" is already a good statement.
Just my opinion - RB knew that the accuser had the right to complain higher, and it would be very bad for RB if they found guilty in covering CH despite all evidence. Considering power fight in RB, it doesn't seem reasonable for me that they covered CH. But we will see, let FIA investigate."

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11. Posted by Paulinho, 18/03/2024 8:52

"I thought all important WhatsApp messages went missing, or so I was lead to believe by parts of the Government."

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12. Posted by Ricardo_sanchez, 18/03/2024 1:05

"@kenji - I’m not quite sure where I’ve “declared my position”. All I’ve done is restate information gleaned from articles published so far and applied a working knowledge of UK employment grievance processes. And reflected on the contents of those leaked documents which of course may turn out to be entirely unreliable.

The Whatsapp messages may not be genuine but if you have read them and you think that - should they be shown to be authentic - there’s no case to answer, then we are definitely poles apart when it comes to our opinions on what is ethical and appropriate behaviour for a CEO.

When you have finished attending to your wokeness alarm, perhaps you could tell us more about the interestingly-named “British Crimes Act” that you mentioned previously. "

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13. Posted by kenji, 18/03/2024 0:34

"@Ricardo-sanchez. Any further debate seems impossible to have given that you have declared your position . I do have a question for you though. Where did you source the contents of the KC report ? Your latest post is built entirely around assumptions. Try that in a court of law and see how far that gets you! Finally, my 'me too' wokeness detector is flashing some red lights....must attend."

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14. Posted by Editor, 17/03/2024 22:37

"@ Ricardo_sanchez

As I said, I only saw a few of them."

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15. Posted by Ricardo_sanchez, 17/03/2024 22:08

"@Editor - the leaked messages do include multiple instances of the woman explicitly telling the other party to desist or stating that his behavior was inappropriate.

Maybe she initially enjoyed the attention and was flattered but came to realise what was motivating the other party. Maybe she wanted to humour her boss and thought it was a manageable situation. Maybe she just changed her mind about it being a good idea. There's reference to "him" trying to control what she did (and mention of jealousy) so maybe that soured things. Either way, it's the very obvious power imbalance that makes all this so problematic, along with his persistence after she'd made it clear it was unwanted attention.

Then there are messages - seemingly later in the chronology - where "she" is alluding to changes to her job role once she had asked "him" to stop the inappropriate behaviour. Seeing a job you love being changed because your boss is unable to behave appropriately would be justifiable grounds to raise a grievance. It would also explain why she acted when she did. "

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Horner accuser takes complaint to the FIA

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