Christian Horner makes ‘abuse’ claim against Red Bull rivals

Christian Horner on Red Bull's success and hints at next step

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Red Bull boss Christian Horner feels that his side have been the subject of ‘abuse’ since reports emerged claiming that his team’s spending exceeded the budget cap last year. The FIA are continuing to investigate the matter in what could be a long process.

Ahead of the US Grand Prix on Sunday, Horner jumped to the defence of his team after McClaren’s Zak Brown submitted a letter addressing his concerns with the ‘cost cap era’ and what punishment guilty parties should receive if they are found to have breached the rules.

Brown has claimed that his letter, which was leaked, did not directly name Red Bull and was purely to do with the situation in general. However, Horner did not see the submission in the same light.

He said: “We’ve been tried and subjected to three weeks of effective abuse. It’s just not right. This has to stop.”

The 48-year-old then went on to reveal that the children of some Red Bull staff are now being bullied as a result of the ‘cheating accusations’ made towards them. He continued: “It’s tremendously disappointing for a fellow competitor to be accusing you of cheating, to accuse you of fraudulent activity is shocking. It’s absolutely shocking that another competitor, without the facts, without the details can be making that kind of accusation.

“We’ve been on trial because of public opinion since Singapore [when reports of Red Bull breach emerged]. The rhetoric of cheats, that we’ve had this enormous benefit, and numbers have been put out by the media that are miles out of reality.

“The damage that does to the brand, to our partners, to our drivers, to our workforce… in an age when mental health is prevalent, we’re seeing significant issues within our workforce. We’re seeing kids that are being bullied in playgrounds, employees’ children.

“You cannot go around just making that kind of allegation from any fact or substance. We absolutely are appalled at the behaviour of some of our competitors.” Horner then went on to say that he hopes that the process will be completed this weekend after being offered an ‘accepted breach agreement’ which will mean that his team receive a softer punishment for their actions. It remains to be seen whether Red Bull accepts those terms or holds further talks with the FIA in hope that it will allow them to reach a different agreement, though that could be a ‘six to nine-month’ process.

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