'Horner Affair' casts shadow over Women's Day in Formula One

On a day when women should be centre stage in Formula One for all the right reasons, it is the fallout from the 'Horner Affair', which has seen a female Red Bull employee suspended, which continues to garner the headlines.

Coinciding with International Women's Day, Friday marks the start of the second season of the all-female F1 Academy series at the Jeddah circuit that will host Saturday's men's Grand Prix.

It is all part of a concerted effort to bring more women into Formula One and find successors to Maria Teresa de Filippis, who raced in five Grand Prix in the late 1950s, and Lella Lombardi who was the second and last woman to start a race in Austria in 1976.

The talk should be about the likes of Frenchwoman Doriane Pin, who will represent Mercedes, Dutch driver Maya Weug of Ferrari, Britain’s Abbi Pulling (Alpine) and the 19-year-old Filipina Bianca Bustamante (McLaren).

Instead the sport remains abuzz about the future of Red Bull principal Christian Horner following allegations of inappropriate behaviour against him from a female member of his team.

Horner, who stayed at his post and was trackside last Sunday when Max Verstappen won the opening race of the season in Bahrain, has strenuously denied the claims and was cleared by Red Bull following an internal investigation.

Horner told reporters in Jeddah on Thursday it was "time to look forward and draw a line".

"A grievance was raised, fully investigated and it was dismissed. We move onwards," said the 50-year-old.

It does not look as though everyone at Red Bull is on Horner's script because the same day, the employee who lodged the accusations was suspended on full pay with the team offering no explanation.

"Red Bull cannot make any comment about the individual situation of an employee of the company," a Red Bull spokesperson said.

Horner was equally opaque when asked about the suspension.

"This is confidential," he said. "I am not at liberty. We are all bound by the same restrictions. Even if I'd like to talk about it, I can't."

VERSTAPPEN DEPARTURE?

Any hopes Red Bull had of burying the story with a swift inquiry following the original allegations last month went up in smoke with reports of a major bust-up in Bahrain between Horner and Jos Verstappen, the father of Max.

Verstappen senior, who is as robust off the track as he was on it when he was a driver himself, then told British newspaper Daily Mail that Red Bull will "explode" if Horner remains in position.

He also laid into Horner who spoke about intrusions into his family, even as he paraded publicly with his wife Geri Halliwell in Bahrain.

"He is playing the victim, when he is the one causing the problems," said Jos Verstappen.

Max Verstappen diplomatically said little at his press conference other than that his father "never lies" but former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher, younger brother of seven-time champion Michael, weighed in with a view on what that explosion might entail.

"If Christian Horner holds on to his seat with all his might, he will not only damage Red Bull, but he will also ensure that (Max) Verstappen leaves the team," he told Austria's Kronen Zeitung newspaper.

According to numerous press outlets, Jos Verstappen met with Mercedes boss Toto Wolff at the Bahrain GP, prompting speculation of his son filling Lewis Hamilton's seat when he leaves for Ferrari at the end of the season.

Wolff added fuel to the fire saying "Anything is possible" when asked about a possible Verstappen switch, while Mercedes driver George Russell welcomed the idea.

"I think any team wants to have the best driver line-up possible and yeah, right now, Max is the best driver on the grid," Russell said.

"If any team had a chance to sign Max, they'd 100 per cent be taking him. The question is more on his side and Red Bull’s side.

“We don’t know what truly is going on behind closed doors and, ultimately, it is none of our business right now."

Red Bull seniors may ultimately have to choose between losing Horner, the most successful principal whose contract, significantly, is linked with that of car designer Adrian Newey or three-time champion Verstappen, by some distance the best driver in Formula One today.

For the moment the racing, for men and for women, goes on in Jeddah.