FIA in the Horner case:

No investigations, but: “This harms the sport”

Christian Horner (left) with FIA President Mohammed bin Sulayem

(Bild: APA/AFP/ANDREJ ISAKOVIC)

The International Automobile Federation does not want to carry out its own investigation into the piquant affair surrounding team boss Christian Horner of the Red Bull Formula 1 racing team at present. FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem told the Financial Times. However, the 62-year-old from Dubai also explained after a conversation with Horner: "It hurts the sport. It hurts on a human level."

Horner had been accused of inappropriate behavior by an employee. Following an investigation by an independent lawyer, the parent company Red Bull declared last Wednesday that the complaint had been rejected.

One day later, e-mails were sent from anonymous addresses with a link to alleged files relating to the matter. Previously, Horner's team principal colleagues Toto Wolff from Mercedes and Zak Brown from McLaren had called for more transparency and also called the FIA to account.

Ben Sulayem explained that the FIA would not initiate an investigation because it had not received a formal complaint. He declined to discuss the content of the conversation with Horner, but emphasized that a lawyer had conducted a thorough investigation on behalf of Red Bull. Horner, 50 years old and the team principal since the Austrian company took over the Red Bull Racing team, has always denied the allegations.

The FIA boss added that it was important to "protect the sport from all this", pointing to the importance of the season opener in Bahrain and the popularity of the series. "Look at the competition. Why should we overshadow that with negativity?" said Ben Sulayem. For the time being, there was no reaction from a Formula 1 official in Sakhir.