Horner bomb explodes again: Dark clouds roll over again

It seemed like the story had finished: Christian Horner was back in the F1 paddock. Yet another bomb has exploded. An email with photos and screenshots of suspected conversations has been leaked, and a statement from Horner himself followed.

On Wednesday evening, it was confirmed that Horner had been cleared. This was announced in a Red Bull GmbH press release and confirmed he could continue as Red Bull Racing team boss. You might have thought that was the end. Horner also arrived back at the paddock on Thursday 'as normal' and even did some media sessions for the television.

Yet from minute one, dark clouds rolled over his head. Firstly, because the person who made the allegations can still appeal, but above all, because with the closure of the investigation, many questions remained open.

The subject was talked about at the press conference for the team bosses. Zak Brown and Toto Wolff were asked for their views on the matter. Both said they wanted transparency. There was no transparency, and the question was to what extent that would be detrimental to Formula 1. F1 and FIA have not yet announced whether they will investigate Red Bull's investigation further.

With that press conference, Red Bull Racing remained under fire, much to the frustration of many team members. The team's spirit was much better again on Thursday due to the 'good news', but it was still all about Horner.

During the second free practice, the media centre was put on high alert when attention would finally switch back to the track. The attention was no longer about the action on the track but an e-mail that many journalists had received. The anonymous account apparently had access to almost all journalists in the paddock, F1 team bosses, F1 staff and people from the FIA.

GPblog.com also saw the content, which consisted of photos and screenshots. It cannot be said with 100% clarity that the photos are genuine. Nor the screenshots. The news was submitted to Red Bull Racing, but no response followed.

Half an hour later, Red Bull Racing's press officer appeared outside the hospitality and read Christian Horner's statement: "I won't comment on anonymous speculation, but to reiterate, I have always denied the allegations. I respected the integrity of the independent investigation and fully cooperated with it every step of the way. It was a thorough and fair investigation conducted by an independent specialist barrister, and it has concluded, dismissing the complaint made. I remain fully focused on the start of the season." It was made clear that this was a statement by Horner and not by Red Bull Racing or Red Bull.

Whereas many fans would have hoped to be able to talk about race, that does not seem to have been the intention of whoever sent the email. Who that was, their motives, and how that person had access to all those e-mail addresses are unanswered questions.