Christian Horner hit out at his Formula One rivals amid the Red Bull texting scandal that engulfed the paddock last year, explaining that he wanted to ‘f*** all of them’ in a new clip from Netflix’s upcoming Drive To Survive series.
Last season began for a dark cloud under the constructor after it was revealed that team principal Horner was under investigation for alleged ‘coercive behaviour’ towards an unnamed employee.
The allegations were later dismissed, but just one day later – ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix – a cache of leaked text and photographs, purportedly between Horner and a female colleague, were shared with influential figures and journalists in and around the sport.
The bombshell leak, which remains anonymous, rocked the paddock but the Red Bull hierarchy threw their support behind the 50-year-old, and the employee’s appeal against the initial inquiry was dismissed in August.
Later that month, Horner said that he was ‘relieved’ that there had been a formal conclusion to the allegations of inappropriate behaviour against him, but new footage from the documentary series has shown the impact of the unfolding revelations on the team principal, and the sport.
In a clip circulated in advance of season seven’s premiere on March 7, Horner began addressing the tumultuous start of his 2024 and the bombshell leak itself by stressing: ‘The higher you rise, the sharper the knives.
Netflix cameras captured Christian Horner’s response to the leak at 2024’s Bahrain Grand Prix
In a clip circulated ahead of season seven of Drive To Survive, Horner is seen reacting to the news with shock
Horner and his wife Geri Halliwell are set to appear on the season as it sheds light on the events behind the headlines
‘I’ve reached the top of my game and I never thought in a million years I’d have a challenge like this in my career,’ Horner continued. ‘It’s a crucial time of year, in a job that I do, you’re the front face of the organisation.
‘You can either hide away or you can get out there and face it.’
Also present in the circulated clip is Horner’s wife, former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell, who flew out to join her husband for the opening races of the season and put on a united front in the eye of an international press storm.
In another scene captured by Netflix’s cameras, Horner is seen passing judgement on McLaren chief executive Zak Brown, who had called for greater transparency in Red Bull’s investigation.
Brown made comments in the immediate aftermath of the leak as greater scrutiny was placed on the internal inquiry that had cleared Horner in February 2024.
The McLaren boss said that he advocated for the sports owners and organisers to ‘make sure that all the racing teams and the personnel and the drivers and everyone else involved in the sport are operating in a manner which we all live by.’
Rival team principal Toto Wolff had also called Red Bull’s transparency into question, telling reporters that he wondered ‘what the sport’s position is’ on ‘such (a) critical topic.’
‘Are we talking with the right moral approach, with the values based on the speculation that is out there?’ the Mercedes boss had added at the time.
‘You find out who your friends are, don’t you?’ Horner was caught on a Netflix microphone asking.
The video showed Horner and Halliwell putting on a united front in the aftermath of the news
The Spice Girl flew to Bahrain for the opening race of the season to watch by Horner’s side
Horner also called out the actions of McLaren chief executive Zak Brown in x-rated comments
‘Zak’s a p****. I’ll get through it.’
Horner later noted after the opening race, which saw Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez finish first and second in Bahrain, that ‘that’s the best way to f*** them all.
‘Shut the f*** up,’ he added.
In the closing moments of the clip, Horner outlined a potential motive for why the leak took place, saying: ‘It was obvious that the end goal was for me to leave Red Bull.’
When asked by the interviewer if he knew who the leaker was, Horner’s only comment on the ‘multi-million dollar question’ appeared to be silence and a smirk.
Rather than see Horner forced from his job, the turbulent opening months of 2024 saw the team principal shore up his support with Red Bull’s Thai leadership, with the 51 per cent stakeholders appearing to back him to the hilt – and seemingly ahead of other key figures in the organisation.
But while Verstappen’s possible move away from the constructor in the way of the roiling controversy came to nothing, it was star designer and chief technical officer Adrian Newey was the only surprise departure last year.
The 65-year-old announced his resignation in May, calling time on nearly twenty years designing the team’s championship-winning cars.
Newey later joined F1 rivals Aston Martin, with Mail Sport reporting exclusively on his £20million-a-year deal in September.
