Rival Bosses Demand Greater Transparency In Christian Horner Saga

F1 team bosses Toto Wolff and Zak Brown have questioned the investigation carried out by Red Bull that cleared Christin Horner of any wrongdoing, and have called for greater transparency to help the image of Formula 1 going forward.

Speaking at the Bahrain Grand Prix, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff was clear in his assessment that the details need to be made public.

‘Well, I just read the statement, which was pretty basic, I would say. My personal opinion is we can’t really look behind the curtain. At the end of the day, there is a lady in an organisation that has spoken to HR and said there is an issue and it was investigated and yesterday, you know, the sport has received the message, it’s all fine, we’ve looked at it. I believe that with the aspiration as a global sport on such critical topics it needs more transparency and I wonder what the sport’s position is. We are competitors, we are a team, and we can have our own personal opinions or not, but it’s more like a general reaction or action that we as a sport need to assess what is right in that situation and what is wrong.

‘We are being asked questions as competitors here. And are we talking as competitors? Are we talking with the right moral approach, with the values based on the speculations that are out there? But I just simply think that as a sport, we cannot afford to leave things in the vague and in the opaque on critical topics like this. Because this is going to catch us out eventually…

‘We are in a super transparent world. Eventually things are going to happen. and I think we have the duty or the organisation has the duty to say well we’ve looked at it and it’s OK and then we can move on. I think it’s sometimes very short-sighted to try, you know, suppress it, but not saying this has happened, we’re standing from the outside and looking at it, but just looking at statements or press releases or timelines, it just seems that it’s not as modern as things go in this world, in the real world out there. But maybe in Formula 1, we just have a little bubble and we think that’s OK,’ said Wolff.

McLaren boss Zak Brown would like to see more information provided, to help quell the ongoing speculation around the matter.

‘I read the statement. I think from what I’ve seen there continues to be a lot of rumours and speculation. I think the sanctioning body has a responsibility and authority to our sport to our fans. I think all of us in Formula 1 are ambassadors for the sport on and off the track, like you see in other sports and so I think they need to make sure that things have been fully transparent with them. I don’t know what those conversations are and it needs to be thorough, fully transparent, and that they come to the same conclusion that has been given by Red Bull and that they agree with the outcome. But I think until then, there’ll continue to be speculation because there are a lot of unanswered questions about the whole process, and so I think that’s what’s needed by those that run the sport to really be able to draw a line under it. Until then, I think there’ll continue to be some level of speculation by people, and I don’t think that’s healthy for the sport.

‘I think it’s the responsibility ultimately of the organisers of Formula 1, the owners of Formula 1, to make sure that all the racing teams and the personnel and the drivers and everyone involved in this sport are operating in a manner which we all live by. So I don’t think it’s the teams’ roles and responsibilities. So those questions you mentioned I think that’s up to the FIA and Formula 1 to ultimately decide, and to ask what they feel gives them the level of transparency that they need to ultimately come to their conclusion And we just have to count on them that they fulfil that obligation to all of us’ said Brown.