The cut-and-thrust F1 politics at play in Christian Horner and Red Bull’s power struggle

Horner’s battle to keep his job as Red Bull F1 team principal – as he faces allegations of ‘inappropriate, controlling behaviour’ – comes amid rumblings of division in the background, as Kieran Jackson explains

Christian Horner’s future as Red Bull boss remains in the balance (PA)

Formula One team bosses come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Some take the top job with a résumé bristling in world-class engineering, like ex-Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto or current Williams team principal James Vowles. Some are businessmen at heart: Mercedes’ Toto Wolff and McLaren’s Zak Brown the clearest case-in-points on the current grid. But no matter the background, all of them must quickly master the art of politicking: engaging and thriving in the intricate and detailed politics of the sport. Or else, be swept by the wayside.

In this field, Christian Horner comes out on top. A team principal in 2005 at just 31 years of age, a feat executed by way of a close companionship with ex-F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone, 45 years his senior, the Red Bull boss has long been a master at the sport’s dark arts. Increasingly, as he enters 20 years in the sport, Horner has been the great white shark in F1’s “piranha club” – a term coined by ex-McLaren ringmaster Ron Dennis.

Yet for all his spin-doctoring and mind games in showdowns between big bosses and bigger egos – aired most recently on Netflix’s Drive to Survive – it is quarrelling in the background of his own Red Bull team that is the subtext to this week’s controversy. Horner, 50, is fighting for his job after being accused of inappropriate controlling behaviour by a female colleague.