Automotive giant Ford is set to make a dramatic return to Formula 1 in 2026 with a new technical engine partnership with Red Bull. However those plans have taken something of a knock in the wake of allegations made about team principal Christian Horner.
Horner vehemently denies the claims of inappropriate behaviour toward a female employee of the race team, but is currently under formal investigation led by an external barrister appointed by the team's energy drinks parent.
Despite the investigation, Horner remains in full charge of the team and attended this week's official 2024 launch event and was also present for the first shakedown of the RB20 at Silverstone.
But the news headlines continue to lead on the allegations, and on the possibility that Horner may end up being forced out of the team he has been in charge of since its inception 18 years ago.
"We're fully focused on going racing,” Horner insisted on Thursday, denying that dealing with the allegations was proving to be a distraction. "It's been very much business as normal. The support has been fantastic."
But Ford itself had conspicuously refrained from public comments until Friday, when Ford Performance Motorsport Mark Rushbrook confirmed that the motor giant is continually monitoring the situation as it evolves.
"As a family company, and a company that holds itself to very high standards of behaviour and integrity, we do expect the same from our partners," Rushbrook told AP Sports ahead of this weekend's NASCAR Daytona 500 season opener.
"It appears to us, and what we’ve been told, that Red Bull is taking the situation very seriously, and of course they’re worried about their brand as well.
"That’s why they’ve got an independent investigation," he added. "Until we see what truth comes out of that, it’s too early for us to comment on it all."
The investigation could take weeks to complete, and may not be concluded by the time the new Formula 1 season gets underway in Bahrain on March 2, although reports in The Times suggest that the timetable might be speeded up.
“There is now a desire to accelerate the process in an effort to end the disruption as well as the uncertainty,” the British broadsheet stated, with the lack of clear support from Max Verstappen "now being viewed by some as increasingly significant” it added.
Verstappen himself said that the allegations had made no difference to his relationship with Horner. “It’s the same as always,” he said on Thursday.
“I don’t know who likes to write these kind of things, but between me and Christian it’s like always.”
Dutch media reported this week that lawyers for Horner had made an attempt to settle the dispute with the complainant, but this has not been publicly acknowledged or confirmed.
There has been speculation that the allegations are being used to oust Horner by internal factions at the parent company in the wake of the passing of team co-founder Dietrich Mateschitz in 2022, but Horner firmly denied this.
"We've always had tremendous support from the shareholders since Dietrich's passing," he insisted. “The shareholders have been incredibly supportive."
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