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Formula One. Christian Horner accuser believed to be appealing against inquiry verdict. Published: PM.

The Red Bull team principal, Christian Horner, has warned that there is no guarantee the team can hang on to their three-time world champion Max Verstappen should he choose to leave, as the impact from another turbulent weekend for the team continues to be felt. Horner conceded that if Verstappen wanted to join another team, Red Bull could not stop him. When asked about the potential for Verstappen to leave before his contract is up in , Horner admitted it remained a realistic possibility. That applies whether it is a machine operator or a designer or someone in one of the support functions that runs through the business. Despite the furore over the weekend Horner did insist the relationship with Verstappen remained strong, even as the driver appears to have lined up on the other side of a divide within the team. Horner has repeatedly called for a line to be drawn under the controversy but if anything the weekend only exposed the scale of the contortions racking the team, now involving the Thai majority owners of the parent company who back Horner , the Austrian wing of said company, believed to be favoured by Verstappen and Marko, Horner and his opponents and of course the sponsors and partners watching it with increasing ill-ease.

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The sport has made great strides in recent years only to become mired in this latest controversy. Someone needs to show leadership. L ast week, Christian Horner sternly fended off questions from the press about how Formula One had become engulfed in a media storm that has overshadowed the opening races of the season in Bahrain and, this weekend, Saudi Arabia. The Red Bull team principal has been mired in controversy after allegations of inappropriate and controlling behaviour towards a female colleague became public earlier this month. The furore has raised questions about the power dynamics inside Red Bull and whether the allegations have been appropriately handled. Horner has strenuously denied the allegations and has refused to comment on the leaked WhatsApp messages. The strides made since have been laudable: with the creation of an all-female F1 Academy series , which launched its second season this weekend, the sport is aiming to help women wanting to get into motor racing and ultimately into F1. But why would female drivers push for an F1 seat, given recent events? Horner said the allegations had taken an emotional toll. At the centre, however, is a woman who is not allowed to speak as is commonplace in investigations and is ultimately seen as being suspended from her job after raising abuse allegations. For a sport that seeks to create inclusivity for women, this is a moment when it needs to examine its standards. The leak of alleged evidence of abusive behaviour has similarities to the Mason Greenwood case at Manchester United last year, although of a different level of severity. After allegations of abusive behaviour by Greenwood were published online, and the Crown Prosecution Service decided to drop rape charges against the player, the club conducted its own investigation. What followed was an inept and drawn-out inquiry that hoped to reinstate the player, only to create a public backlash that forced club and Greenwood to go their separate ways. Serious questions were asked at the time about the capacity of any club to conduct an internal investigation into allegations of abuse.

Formula One team-by-team guide to the cars and drivers, guardian f1. But it does showcase the Faustian downside of sports actively treating themselves like a soap opera. Published: 5 Jun

Indeed, as machiavellian machinations contort the team around him, Verstappen gave a salutary reminder that he might be the most powerful bargaining chip of all in the power struggle threatening to tear Red Bull apart. Verstappen won from pole, with a dominant drive that felt all too predictable even only two races into the season. Having held his led into the first corner he disappeared into the distance just as he had done at the first round in Bahrain , with ominous ease in a season that has 22 more meetings to run. A worn out Bearman, having dealt with one of the fastest and most physically demanding circuits of the season, after being called up by Ferrari at the last moment on Friday morning, rightly declared himself happy with the result. It was incredible, especially at the end when I had the two guys on softs bearing down on me. It was another consummate — if uninspiring competitively — drive from Verstappen that demonstrated a relentless precision and flawless execution and left him unchallenged out front.

Another day, another piece allegedly added to the complex Red Bull puzzle We just had to make a Formula One version, didn't we? Unless your name is Max Verstappen, there are still improvements to be made, some needing bigger steps than others Could Max Verstappen really join Mercedes? Toto Wolff has admitted they would "love to have him". Ferrari are reportedly looking at Red Bull to bolster their tech department ahead of the season. Lewis Hamilton will be a Ferrari driver as of But was it a case of a picture speaks a thousand words?

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After a season of intense, turbulent, and controversial yet gripping racing, Formula One almost unfeasibly found aspects of every element for its denouement in the desert. His reaction and that of his Red Bull team was one of unbridled joy while Hamilton and Mercedes were left disconsolate and convinced the win that had been in their hands had been unfairly snatched from their grasp, leaving the greatest prize in motor racing potentially in the laps of the lawyers. In a season already marked by drama this finale simply could not have been scripted nor will there be consensus on how it played out. Inevitably it ended in protests to the stewards grinding on long after the trophies had been awarded and the fans departed. The stewards rejected the protests but more wrangling may lie ahead with Mercedes having lodged an intention to appeal against the decision, and with the right to take their case to the court of arbitration for sport. As the fireworks went off at Yas Marina, Verstappen celebrated with tears in his eyes while a similarly emotional Hamilton held his obvious disappointment in check but having been consoled by his father Anthony, offered sportsmanlike congratulations to his rival. For Verstappen should he maintain his grip on the trophy, this was the culmination of a lifelong dream, achieved in the white heat of competition against the best driver of this generation in what has been a superb season. He can be rightly proud in winning it although he is still only 24 and becomes the first Dutchman to have won the F1 world championship. He was the youngest driver in the history of the sport on his debut aged 17 in , and has the potential to go on and win many more. This year he has taken 10 wins, delivering some relentlessly confident and controlled drives for some dominant victories.

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Listen, I take my hat off to it. Little has been heard from Hamilton since he lost his crown to Max Verstappen in controversial circumstances. Horner has repeatedly called for a line to be drawn under the controversy but if anything the weekend only exposed the scale of the contortions racking the team, now involving the Thai majority owners of the parent company who back Horner , the Austrian wing of said company, believed to be favoured by Verstappen and Marko, Horner and his opponents and of course the sponsors and partners watching it with increasing ill-ease. Published: 13 Apr Or the kind of leadership that preaches the gospel of environmental sustainability while fattening the calendar to a record 24 races, including more than ever before at night. Organisers of the British Grand Prix apologised to fans after its online ticket sales process descended into chaos. On a far more edifying note for the sport, Bearman, at only 18 years, 10 months and one day old, acquitted himself enormously well. What followed was an inept and drawn-out inquiry that hoped to reinstate the player, only to create a public backlash that forced club and Greenwood to go their separate ways. View image in fullscreen. Even now, Horner still gets it better than anyone else.

Carlos Sainz drove well, and almost in spite of the antics of his Ferrari team. George Russell: It was a long race, a tough race. Checo was all over me.

Published: 30 Dec Formula One. The sport has made great strides in recent years only to become mired in this latest controversy. Published: 3 Feb Leading lights claim to care about human rights but there is no evidence that grand prix racing changes oppressive regimes. Mercedes struggled to find more pace once more, with George Russell sixth and Lewis Hamilton ninth. S ad times. Is it not better to fail gloriously than accept the ignominy of mediocrity? Reuse this content. Horner said the allegations had taken an emotional toll. Where does all this leave Adrian Newey? Nobody goes down the park at the weekend to play a little F1 with their mates.