Will Christian Horner be kicked out now?

(Motorsport-Total.com) – Despite the media tsunami that has swept over Red Bull worldwide since the Horner affair first surfaced on February 5th, Christian Horner has not yet been suspended or even terminated from his position as team boss of Red Bull Racing . But now the wind could change and he might lose his job after all, according to research by Motorsport-Total.com result.

On Saturday evening, after another double victory at the Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia, everything still seemed to be in order. The total escalation of Red Bull’s internal fronts, which became publicly visible on Friday through interviews with Helmut Marko and Max Verstappen and on Saturday morning with Jos Verstappen, was averted.

Oliver Mintzlaff, CEO of Corporate Projects & Investments at Red Bull GmbH, managed to convince everyone involved not to wash any more dirty laundry, at least externally. “We don’t intend to air our internal personnel issues in front of the whole world,” he dictated to a few reporters on their devices before the start of the race.

What role does Franz Watzlawick play?

A message that has arrived. Both Marko and Verstappen as well as Horner were asked about the simmering power struggle after the race, but without exception gave diplomatic answers. “My relationship with Helmut is not a problem. He is someone who says what he thinks. But that’s just how Helmut is,” said Horner, for example.

Mintzlaff, and this is a significant detail in this story, was accompanied in Saudi Arabia by Franz Watzlawick, responsible for “the can” in the Red Bull Group, as it is loosely phrased internally (as CEO of Beverage Business, as it is officially called). An unusual measure, because Watzlawick is neither responsible for Formula 1 nor has he appeared publicly there yet.

But now research from… Motorsport-Total.com show that Watzlawick could play a crucial role in the process of finding a clean solution for the benefit of the Red Bull Group as a whole. Especially when it comes to shaking the previous support of the Thai majority owners for Horner.

Horner himself seems to have a completely different perception of the talks in Saudi Arabia: “Oliver supported us a lot, but so did the other CEO, Franz Watzlawick. […] Both were here today and supported us very, very much. It’s nice to see them come here and support the team.”

Summit on Sunday in Dubai

A meeting between Watzlawick, Mintzlaff and Chalerm Yoovidhya will take place in Dubai on Sunday to discuss Red Bull GmbH’s further action in the Horner affair. Our editorial team does not know whether the meeting has already ended by the time this article is published or will take place later.

However, what is supposed to be a key point on the meeting’s agenda has now been leaked. Namely, acute concerns on the Austrian side of Red Bull GmbH that continuing the collaboration with Horner could have negative effects on Watzlawick’s business area, beverage sales.

© Red Bull

Franz Watzlawick is one of three CEOs of Red Bull GmbH, responsible for beverage business

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You have to know: Sensitivity to issues such as sexual harassment is extremely pronounced, especially in North America. Not just, but especially since the Weinstein affair in Hollywood. It cannot be ruled out that large retail chains such as Walmart would ultimately remove Red Bull cans from their range if the scandal spread further.

That would be a major catastrophe for the Red Bull Group, for which the North American market is so important. An argument with which Watzlawick could now apparently also be heard by Yoovidhya. So far he has not been convinced to fire Horner. But when it comes to hard dollars, “the tide is changing,” says a source who wished to remain anonymous.

Employee plans public statement

In addition: According to information from Motorsport-Total.com plans to, given Horner’s recent appearances at media events and press conferences SkyExpert Ralf Schumacher described the effect as a perpetrator-victim reversal, and the woman who was Horner’s personal assistant for years and who accused him of sexual harassment is now coming out of cover.

Apparently the woman is preparing a public statement for next week in order to present her own perspective and not to allow Horner’s misleading statements to stand unchallenged. If she really takes this step, it would be the next level of escalation – and would significantly increase the pressure on Horner and Red Bull.

Ralf Schumacher believes that Horner will have “a very, very difficult position internally” after the Dubai meeting – and he emphasizes: “Yes, I am of the opinion that Christian Horner should resign, and yes, I am of the opinion that he will also resign. I don’t think he will survive this.”

The former Formula 1 driver assumes that Yoovidhya has no other choice given the pressure from partners such as Ford or Honda or potential risks in working with retail chains such as Walmart (“one of Red Bull’s largest customers”) than to distance oneself from Horner.

What McDonald’s has to do with the Horner affair

“We know that America is extremely critical when it comes to such questions. They don’t even ask, they just fire them straight away if it can be proven that someone has inappropriate relationships with other people in the company. The global head of McDonald’s is a very good person for this Example,” says Schumacher.

What he means by that: McDonald’s has the then CEO in 2019 Steve Easterbrook fired after he admitted sending sexually suggestive messages to a female employee as part of a consensual relationship. Easterbrook initially claimed that there had been no other such incidents.

McDonald’s separated from him anyway and later received evidence that Easterbrook was said to have had sexual relationships with other employees. The story ended with Easterbrook having to pay back $105 million to the fast food company because he was proven to have lied in the compliance process.

An example that is in no way intended to suggest that the Easterbrook case is directly comparable to the Horner case. But one that clearly shows how sensitive the USA is to such issues and how quickly such scandals can also have economic implications. The presumption of innocence still applies to Horner.

“We’re moving on,” said Horner on Saturday evening after the race in Saudi Arabia. Meaning: We move on, we look forward. A day later, it no longer seems impossible that this “We move on” could take on a completely different meaning. And he loses his job as team boss at Red Bull Racing.

This article was submitted to Red Bull GmbH for review on Sunday afternoon before publication with a request for comment or comment. So far, the company has left this request unanswered.