Brown and Wolff want FIA to look into Horner investigation

Zak Brown and Toto Wolff have called upon the FIA to look into the investigation carried out into Christian Horner that was instigated by Red Bull GmbH.

Allegations of inappropriate behavior saw Horner face an independent investigation that concluded at the start of this week, with Red Bull GmbH dismissing the grievance as a result. However, with so much focus and discussion around the situation — and Horner continuing to work throughout the investigation — the lack of detail given in the energy drink company’s decision has prompted other Formula 1 team principals ask for further scrutiny.

“I read the statement,” McLaren’s Brown (pictured at right above, with Wolff) said. “I think from what I’ve seen, there continues to be a lot of rumors and speculation, questions. 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. So I think they need to make sure that things have been fully transparent with them.

“I don’t know what those conversations are. 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. So I think that’s what’s needed by those who run the sport to be really 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.”

Mercedes’ Wolff backed up Brown’s stance when they were questioned about it together at a media conference in Bahrain, having earlier called the statement “pretty basic” when giving his reaction to Wednesday’s announcement.

“My personal opinion is we can’t really look behind the curtain,” Wolff said. “At the end of the day, there is a lady in an organization that has spoken to HR and said there was an issue, and it was investigated and yesterday, the sport has received the message that, ‘It’s all fine, we’ve looked at it.’

“I believe 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’re competitors, we’re 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’re being asked questions as competitors here. Are we talking as competitors? Are we talking with the right moral approach, with the values based on the speculations that are out there?

“I simply think as a sport, we cannot afford to leave things vague and opaque on critical topics like this, because this is going to catch us out. We’re in a super-transparent world — eventually things are going to happen, and I think we have the duty, the organization has the duty to say, ‘Well, we’ve looked at it, and it’s OK’ and then we can move on.

“It’s sometimes very short-sighted to try to suppress it. Not saying this has happened. We’re standing from the outside and looking at it. But just looking at statements or press releases or the timelines, it just seems that it’s a bit not as modern as things go in this world, in the real world out there. But maybe in Formula 1, we’re just our little bubble and we think that’s OK.”