Red Bull Facing Major Headache As Christian Horner Investigation Could Extend Beyond Car Launch

According to reports, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner was interviewed Friday in London as part of an investigation into claims that he exhibited "coercive, controlling behavior" toward a member of the team.

Horner has maintained his innocence, but the team has already been dealt a significant loss in that the findings of the independent investigation into the claims won't likely be completed before the team unveils its 2024 car, the RB20, on February 15.

Perhaps even worse for them, The Standard reports that they may not even know the results before the first race of the season.

This is reportedly because while Horner's questioning by an external investigator in London was part of the process, it wasn't the final part of the process. For legal reasons, the investigator has to interview the accuser a second time so that they can issue responses to Horner's answers.

Of course, that's just how this works, and it's good to hear that the investigator is doing their due diligence to make sure they arrive at the right conclusion.

But if you're Red Bull… this is the last thing you want is for this process to drag out into the season…

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Red Bull's Christian Horner is still under investigation for alleged "coercive, controlling behaviour," but new reports suggest the external investigation could stretch beyond the team's car launch. (Getty Images)

A Dragged Out Investigation Will Cast A Shadow Over The Car Launch, Testing, And Maybe Even A Grand Prix

Previous reports indicated that Horner would stay with the team throughout the duration of the investigation. However, whether or not Horner remains part of the team wouldn't be the concern as much as simply wrapping this entire situation up as soon as possible, regardless of the outcome. 

This is largely because of the car launch on February 15, which will put the team under a microscope.

Sure, these launches are usually heavily produced by the team itself, but good luck trying to ignore an elephant in the room like this.

That would be less than ideal.  But what would be worse is for this to drag out into the season, at which point it becomes a distraction for everyone trackside, who will undoubtedly be flooded with questions.

Preseason testing will take place in Bahrain from February 21 through 23, and then the Bahrain Grand Prix will be held the following weekend from February 29 through March 2. 

Hopefully, whatever the outcome of this investigation is, it's the correct one.  I'm sure Red Bull's top brass want that too.

I think they just want it as soon as humanly possible, and that doesn't look like it'll happen.