The woman at the centre of allegations of inappropriate behaviour against Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has invoked her right to appeal the decision made by the team.
The female employee of the race team made the allegations at the start of February, and the team employed an external barrister to investigate Horner’s conduct and report back.
They exonerated Horner just before the Bahrain GP, but a cache of private messages was leaked to nearly 150 senior F1 insiders the following day. The employee herself was subsequently suspended from her job.
BBC Sport says that she has now taken up her right to appeal the team’s original decision. and will formally ask Red Bull to reconsider its decision.
It’s an indication that the controversy is likely to rumble on for some time to come. If Red Bull dismissed the woman’s case for a second time, she would have the option to take legal action against both the team and Horner himself.
Red Bull has refused to give further details of the case or to publish the report delivered by its external legal advisor citing confidentiality issues. It insists it “could not comment” on the reasons for the woman’s dismissal.
But other figures in the sport – including those from Red Bull’s current engine partner Honda and future collaborators Ford – say that more details about the decision are needed.
Horner sought to draw a line over the row when speaking to the media last week in Saudi Arabia. “The reality is that there was a grievance raised,” he said.
“It was dealt with in the most professional manner by the group which appointed an independent KC [King’s Counsel, barrister], one of the most reputable in the land.
“He took time to investigate all the facts. He looked at everything and he came to a conclusion where he dismissed the grievance,” he continued. “As far as I’m concerned, as far as Red Bull is concerned, we move on.”
The allegations are believed to be connected with an internal power play in the team which has also seen reported attempts to oust the squad’s motorsports consultant Dr Helmut Marko.
It was reported that Marko faced suspension for allegedly leaking details of the investigation, which he denies. The threat of suspension was lifted after an intervention from the team’s star driver Max Verstappen.
His father Jos had previously called or Horner to quit or risk the team tearing itself apart, although he has now pulled back from that initial statement.
But Horner has the backing of the energy drinks company’s majority shareholder Chalerm Yoovidhya, who is reported to have forced minority owners Red Bull Gmbh in Austria to back down in their attempts to force Horner out.
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Complainant to appeal Red Bull decision on Horner – BBC F1i.com.
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