Ecclestone Reportedly Advises Horner To Resign From Position Of Red Bull's Team Principal

Monday, 12 February 2024 at 15:00

Updated at Monday, 12 February 2024 at 15:46

Former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone reportedly advised Christian Horner to step down from his position as team principal at Red Bull Racing.

The latest update we had on the case of Christian Horner was on Friday after his interrogation. It supposedly took about eight hours, but no conclusions have been reached yet.

At this point in time, Christian Horner retains his innocence until he is proven guilty. However, according to a recent report for F1 Insider, Horner's friend and former F1 owner, Bernie Ecclestone, has intervened in the case and advised the 50-year-old to resign.

"Former Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone, a confidant of Horner, has now also intervened and advised his friend to resign from the post of team boss in order to avoid further damage to himself and his family. But Horner – it is said – denies all allegations and refuses to do so."

What's more, it is reported that the current owner of Formula 1, Liberty Media, also started taking interest in this topic with a phone call from Stefano Domenicali to Mark Mateschitz "at the request of his American bosses."

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The American company is now apparently putting pressure on Red Bull as it has "no tolerance for issues related to overstepping boundaries in office."

As F1 Insider's reports continue to mention, the phone call from Domenicali to Mateschitz mentioned that if the allegations were true, "it would not be feasible to keep Horner."

So, what happens with Red Bull's team principal now? As David Coulthard and former F1 team owner Eddie Jordan concluded on their Formula for Success podcast, "Until proven guilty, the case is absolutely sub judice."

Red Bull's launch of the 2024 challenger takes place in three days, and the investigation will likely not be concluded until then. Will we see Horner at the event? Will we see him in Bahrain if the investigation is still ongoing then? We have to wait and see.