The case with Horner that split Red Bull into two camps: a round up

Suddenly, Christian Horner was the centre of attention and not for a pleasant reason: it leaked through some media that the Red Bull Racing team boss had been accused of inappropriate behaviour by a staff member. Ultimately, this led to Horner's departure from Max Verstappen's team; a team that Horner helped make great.

The news hit like the proverbial bomb: family man Christian Horner was accused of inappropriate behaviour with a female colleague. Right away, Red Bull - the company, not the race team - announced they were launching an external investigation. A British lawyer then spoke to the key players in this story, including the woman as well as Horner. Interim updates on the investigation were not shared publicly.

Horner vehemently denied the allegations. At the presentation of the RB20, the team boss responded openly - as far as he could - for the first time. For instance, he said: "I have very a lot of support. The shareholders have all supported us tremendously, and of course, there is a process. There have been allegations that I completely deny. I am working on the investigation that is going on, so I cannot say much. It is an internal matter within the company, but hopefully it can be concluded soon."

While Horner tried to play to public opinion, the alleged victim remained anonymous. Although her name is known to the media, she did not give interviews anywhere. However, shortly after Horner said he was supported, it was leaked via the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf that the Brit had sent sexual WhatsApp messages to the woman. The newspaper said they had access to the messages.

Who had leaked the messages is unclear. In any case, the news messages did cause outrage at Ford, Red Bull's future engine partner. Last weekend, it emerged that the Americans wanted clarity quickly and, at the same time, Ford complained about the lack of information from Red Bull. Although this was a leaked internal document, the trend was clear: Ford did not want this negative publicity.

Why has it taken so long anyway? The investigator reportedly wrote a 150-page report and, moreover, there was no consensus within Red Bull's top brass on what to do with Horner. Whereas Mark Matschitz (son of the late Red Bull founder Dietrich) and Oliver Mintzlaff (CEO) actually wanted to say goodbye to the British team boss right away, it was Chalerm Yoovidhya who actually wanted him to stay put.

The Thai is the son of the creator of the Red Bull drink and owns 51 per cent of the shares in the group. Yoovidhya is known to be a big fan of Horner. Thus, the Horner case within Red Bull was more than a question of whether or not he had done it. It also became a new chapter in the power struggle that has been going on since the death of Dietrich Mateschitz.

With Horner's clearance, that matter has been concluded (for now), but the tribal struggle within Red Bull is surely not at an end. Meanwhile, the team is gearing up for a new Formula 1 season, in which Max Verstappen hopes to win his fourth world drivers' title. But the Dutchman will need a top performance in an interesting environment.