As we all know, the Christian Horner ‘inappropriate behavior’ controversy finally concluded before the start of the race weekend. Red Bull’s internal, thorough, and drawn-out investigation gave Horner a clean bill of health. However, we have just that, the ‘not guilty’ verdict, but no explanation, and as Horner said multiple times, no further comment.

This dismissal of the complaint from Red Bull did not sit well with a few, including the FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem. He made a statement highlighting the “damaging” effect of this entire fiasco. However, standing by his side, the reigning champion Max Verstappen put faith in Horner’s abilities as the boss after his first pole of the season.

Max Verstappen stands by Christian Horner’s side despite suggestions of loss of faith and continued accusations

Because the complaint wasn’t made to FIA, Ben Sulayem could only express his opinion on the matter with his hands tied. Which was, “It’s damaging the sport. This is damaging on a human level.”  However, Red Bull is ready to back their leader till the end and Verstappen showcased that spirit in the Bahrain GP post-qualifying interview. Verstappen backed Horner in the presser when he was asked to express his views on Horner’s leadership or if he had lost any faith in him.

As per FIA’s official transcript, Verstappen replied, “Listen, when I look at how Christian operates within the team, he has been an incredible team boss. So absolutely, from the performance side of things, you can’t even question that. So that’s what I’m also dealing with. I speak to Christian a lot. And also, of course, throughout the weekend here, he’s fully committed to the team. He’s also here for the performance, of course. probably a little bit distracted. But like I said before, we just focus on the performance side of things. And that’s how we all work together.”

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Verstappen pointed out how Horner is a little distracted, as anyone naturally would be. Apart from that, the boss had always maintained his stance on the allegations and never went into hiding.

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However, despite the clean chit, he will have to live with these allegations, at least for the time being, and the rival team bosses proved it with their statements.

Toto Wolff and Zak Brown demand more transparency on the Christian Horner matter

Accusations followed by an independent investigation by a third-party lawyer for several weeks and a statement right before the season opener clearing Horner of any wrongdoing with no further explanation. For many, it might be enough to acquit Horner, however, for Mercedes and McLaren bosses it isn’t enough.

Both Toto Wolff and Zak Brown believe the accusations and investigation affected the whole sport. This is exactly why they believe to fully wash the stench of the investigation, there needs to be more clarity. So the statement Red Bull has provided to prove Horner’s innocence isn’t enough.

Toto Wolff said, “My personal opinion is we can’t really look behind the curtain. – And I believe that with the aspirations as a global sport, on such critical topics, it needs more transparency and I wonder what the sport’s position is.”

On a separate occasion, the McLaren CEO reiterated Wolff’s point and said, “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.”

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Brown also pointed out how the speculations will continue until there is more clarity and he might have a point. Perhaps one of the biggest talking points of the pre-season isn’t over yet. Even if he has the support from his team, fingers might still be pointed toward Horner.