Bernie Ecclestone’s advice to under-fire Red Bull boss Christian Horner

Bernie Ecclestone, himself no stranger to controversy, has some key advice for under-fire Red Bull boss Christian Horner.

Bernie Ecclestone and Christian Horner. Photos: Getty Images

Former Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone has advised Red Bull boss Christian Horner “to keep his head down” in the eye of the storm over an allegation of inappropriate behaviour.

The accusation by a female employee of the Red Bull team has left Horner’s fate at the team he has led to seven drivers’ championships and six constructors’ titles hanging in the balance.

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Red Bull’s parent company, the Austrian drinks giant, have set up an independent investigation, with Horner subjected to an eight-hour grilling by a lawyer in London last Friday (Saturday AEDT).

With a verdict reportedly not expected imminently it means the reigning world champions will launch their 2024 car on Thursday with the damaging affair hanging heavy in the air.

Bernie Ecclestone had some advice for the Red Bull boss. (Photo by Sebastian Widmann/Getty Images)

“My advice to Christian, apart from keeping his head down, is to do nothing, wait and see what happens,” Ecclestone told AFP on Tuesday.

Ecclestone himself is no stranger to controversy, pleading guilty to tax fraud in 2023 and getting arrested for carrying a firearm boarding a private plane in Brazil the previous year, among a number of incidents.

Ecclestone and Horner are friends from the days when Horner first joined Red Bull as the pitlane’s youngest team principal aged 31 in 2005.

“I keep in close contact with him,” the now retired 93-year-old Ecclestone said by phone from his home in Switzerland.

“The trouble is once you are successful you make a lot of enemies and this is a case in point.

“I hope Christian keeps his head down and that someone talks individually to him and the woman and it is sorted out.”

The investigation into Christian Horner may not be resolved for some time. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)

Ecclestone, who over several decades transformed the sport into a global multibillion-dollar commercial giant, suggested that since the death of Red Bull founder Dietrich Mateschitz in 2022, Horner had become something of a target.

“I feel when Dietrich died it created a vacuum and several people moved into different positions and saw an opportunity to make up all sorts of stories and hurt him (Horner) so they can engineer his departure and create an opening for themselves,” he said.

“Effectively they want to oust him.”

Ecclestone holds Horner in high regard and clearly hopes one of F1’s lead characters can ride it out

“He has been responsible for a huge run of success and done an incredible amount of good, not just for the team but for the sport,” he said.

Originally published as Bernie Ecclestone’s advice to under-fire Red Bull boss Christian Horner