Christian Horner saga ‘damaging the sport’ as FIA president breaks silence after meeting
FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has spoken out on the Christian Horner saga dominating Formula One.
FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has claimed that the furore surrounding the Christian Horner saga is “damaging the sport” as he broke his silence for the first time after meeting with the Red Bull team principal. The governing body’s chief spoke personally with Horner in Bahrain on Friday after he was cleared of any wrongdoing following a lengthy investigation into alleged inappropriate behaviour.
Horner, 50, saw Max Verstappen secure pole position in Friday’s qualifying, and he has been given the all-clear to return to Red Bull for the season’s inaugural race in the Middle East.
But before the day’s qualifying action, Ben Sulayem met with Horner following the purported leak of his WhatsApp conversations and images to an unidentified employee, which reached a number of prominent Formula One figures and media.
Speaking about the story for the first time after Horner’s exoneration in an interview with the Financial Times was also the president of the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile. “It’s hurting the sport…this is hurtful on a human level,” said Ben Sulayem.
Additionally, when Red Bull had finished their own probe, he told the Financial Times that the regulatory agency would not be opening its own investigation because it had not received a formal complaint.
Ben Sulayem was eager to emphasize the need to “protect our sport from all of this” since the start of the 2024 season has been overshadowed, but he declined to elaborate on what he and Horner discussed during their discussion.
- about Red Bull boss
“It is the beginning of the season. F1 is becoming so popular,” he added. “We just need to enjoy the beginning of the season. Look at the competition. Why do we overshadow it with negativity?”
After a Google Drive folder containing purported texts and images from the Red Bull CEO was supplied to important F1 figures, including Ben Sulayem, Horner—who has vehemently denied the accusations from the beginning—released a statement of his own.
“I won’t comment on anonymous speculation, but to reiterate, I have always denied the allegations,” Horner stated. “I completely cooperated with the independent investigation at every stage, respecting its objectivity.
“It was a thorough and fair investigation conducted by an independent specialist barrister and it has concluded, dismissing the complaint made.”
