Christian Horner fired — but F1’s real scandal is its attitude towards women

Editor’s notice, July 9, 2025, 10:45 am ET: On July 9, Purple Bull’s Method 1 staff principal Christian Horner was fired. His elimination adopted a tricky yr for the staff, one which noticed dwindling efficiency, excessive turnover of crucial engineers, employees and drivers, and rumors in regards to the potential exit of four-time world champ Max Verstappen. As of 10:30 am, a cause hasn’t been made public, however beneath you’ll discover an explainer — initially printed on March 8, 2024 — behind final yr’s allegations of sexual harassment, a scandal which will have contributed to the downfall of the once-dominant staff.The road between spectacle and sport has at all times been blurry. However in terms of Method 1 — the worldwide motorsport with a few of the quickest vehicles and deepest pockets — the most important institutional gamers appear to neglect that there’s a distinction between scrumptious drama and bonafide controversy. It’s simple to mistake the 2 when a lot of the elite sport’s success will be attributed to Drive to Survive, the addictive Netflix present that explains the intimidating technicalities and stakes of F1 via the catty interpersonal drama between teammates and opponents alike. My colleague Byrd Pinkerton described the present in 2021 this manner: “Principally, think about the Actual Housewives, if the housewives have been driving round at 300 kilometers an hour, and if often one of many housewives caught on hearth.”Previous to reporting this story, I attended a number of races in the previous couple of years, bonded with an more and more various fan neighborhood, and spoke with pit crew personnel on the 2023 Miami Grand Prix. Right here’s what it is advisable to know:Have questions? Electronic mail me: izzie.ramirez@voxmedia.com.Consequently, F1 has skilled years of explosive progress, particularly within the US. Extra eyes has meant extra races: You may need heard Las Vegas residents griping in regards to the development inconveniences and inaccessibility of final November’s brand-new avenue race. Or how Elon Musk, Shakira, and Vin Diesel rolled out to the Miami Grand Prix. There’s additionally the sheer stardom of the drivers: thirst traps of Lewis Hamilton going viral, Daniel Ricciardo gracing the duvet of GQ, and limitless model offers for practically everybody on the grid. (That’s the place the 20 drivers begin the race!)Proper now, although, an issue may change how individuals see the ordinarily glitzy sport — particularly the rising feminine fanbase F1 is all too blissful to courtroom through social media. In 2022, roughly 40 % of followers have been feminine, up 8 % from 5 years in the past, in keeping with Stefano Domenicali, CEO of the Method 1 Group. In early February, vitality drink firm and staff proprietor Purple Bull launched an unbiased investigation into its Method 1 staff principal, Christian Horner, for potential misconduct towards a staff member. Purple Bull didn’t specify the main points of the character of the alleged misconduct nor who it was in opposition to, resulting in rumors. Horner, who manages staff technique and personnel, was cleared just a few days forward of the beginning of the season. A day after Purple Bull dismissed the investigation, a Google Drive folder was anonymously despatched to greater than 100 reporters, different staff principals, and members of the Fédération Internationale de l’Car (FIA), the governing physique for the game. The folder comprises practically 80 completely different information, most of that are screenshots of WhatsApp messages between what’s allegedly Horner and a feminine worker. Vox is presently within the technique of verifying the photographs and movies. What we will say is that the undated messages embody references to intimate acts, requests to delete messages, and what seems to be a nude image. These WhatsApp messages share area with seemingly skilled communication, together with about whether or not this individual may earn a living from home. Purple Bull Racing, its mum or dad firm Purple Bull GmbH, and Christian Horner didn’t reply to Vox’s requests for remark in regards to the validity of the messages, the character of the investigation, something relating to doubtlessly firing Horner, or whether or not they have opened any new investigations by time of publication.Whereas controversy isn’t new to F1 — simply take a look at the dishonest scandals, race interference, or the motive force who misplaced his seat as a result of his Russian oligarch father was sanctioned at first of the conflict in Ukraine — the noise surrounding Horner needs to be greater than fodder for a juicy season of Drive to Survive. It ought to immediate questions round the best way to greatest assist the ladies pit crew members, engineers, assistants, and all different employees in a predominantly male sport. If F1 can’t defend its personal feminine workers within the sport, then the efforts to create a pipeline for feminine drivers in addition to make races safer for the latest inflow of feminine followers will fall flat. Presently, a lot of the protection of the controversy is concentrated on whether or not Purple Bull will have the ability to keep its huge lead within the Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships, or hypothesis in regards to the different individual’s identification and motivations within the texts, as if that is gossip fodder about actuality stars and never a office concern. As of Thursday morning, Purple Bull had reportedly suspended a lady who accused Horner of inappropriate conduct. It’s not clear if she is similar individual within the texts. And on Friday afternoon, it was reported that Purple Bull adviser Helmut Marko may face suspension.The best way every thing is shaking out feels extra like gossip, relatively than a intestine test to see if the game’s establishments are able to questioning breaches of energy. From the FIA to the person groups and their house owners, the game has confirmed time and time once more that they disguise behind claims that every thing ought to “simply be in regards to the racing,” relatively than having to concern themselves with the individuals who make it potential. How Method 1 decides to maneuver from right here will decide if their efforts to assist girls workers and its followers have any benefit.The investigation and allegations in opposition to Christian Horner, explainedMost Method 1 followers would say the game is fairly boring in the meanwhile: Purple Bull driver Max Verstappen, predictably, will take first place in most races. He’s in a league of his personal. The engineers and management at Purple Bull Racing assure that.While you’re consistently crushing the competitors, others attempt to discover methods to take you down. There are a number of situations documented in Drive to Survive of petty studies to the FIA. So when Purple Bull introduced on February 5 that it could be trying into “sure allegations” made in opposition to staff principal Christian Horner, it was exhausting to pin down whether or not this was an exterior try and get him fired for competitors’s sake or if there was veracity to the claims of misconduct. Purple Bull’s deliberately imprecise assertion to the media ushered in rumors about “aggressive administration.” Of what sort? The corporate by no means explicitly mentioned. And it nonetheless gained’t. “One of many largest quotes from Drive to Survive is [motorsport commentator] Will Buxton at all times saying ‘In F1, when there’s smoke, there’s often hearth,’” mentioned Kate Byrne, one of many founders of the fan neighborhood Two Ladies 1 Method. She explains that such inside issues not often bubble as much as the general public, however she feels Purple Bull weighing in was a pink flag, saying it’s potential they needed to “get in entrance of it by saying one thing. Purple Bull won’t ever do this on their very own.” Purple Bull’s exterior lawyer, who they refuse to publicly title, cleared Horner of any wrongdoing on February 28 — simply forward of the primary Grand Prix of the season in Bahrain. “Purple Bull is assured that the investigation has been truthful, rigorous, and neutral,” Purple Bull’s mum or dad firm mentioned in one other assertion. “The investigation report is confidential and comprises the non-public data of the events and third events who assisted within the investigation, and due to this fact we won’t be commenting additional out of respect for all involved.”Moreover, in keeping with some studies, Purple Bull was getting ready to fireside Horner as early as February 2 — three days earlier than the investigation announcement — however he had allegedly insisted on arbitration. Horner has not made any statements relating to doubtlessly being fired, and through this week’s press convention, he declined to present any extra specifics.“My spouse has been phenomenally supportive, as has my household, however the intrusion on my household is now sufficient,” Horner mentioned throughout a press convention Thursday in Saudi Arabia. “It’s time now to deal with why we’re right here, which is to go Method 1 racing.”Who will get to regulate the narrative?Horner’s profession will seemingly be unaffected, given the portrayal of this investigation as merely a scandal relatively than a possible office misconduct difficulty. F1 and Purple Bull are actually making certain that Horner is ready to do “enterprise as regular.” So naturally, all eyes have been on Purple Bull’s two drivers, Max Verstappen and Checo Perez, to scope out their efficiency final weekend. There have been issues, some raised by Max’s father Jos, who’s a former racer, that issues at Purple Bull may “explode” if nothing is finished. If it’s true that tensions have been rising inside the staff, it could be evident within the first race, no? As if. Verstappen led the race by a large margin of about 20 seconds between him and his teammate. Merely put, he was coasting, taking his monster of a automotive for a pleasure trip, whereas no opponents even got here shut. It was like watching Simone Biles on a playground. After Verstappen snagged first place, Horner was proper in entrance of the rostrum along with his spouse, former Spice Woman Gerri Halliwell, and the inheritor of the Purple Bull fortune, Chalerm Yoovidhya. “Higher to do your speaking on the observe,” Horner mentioned after the race.F1 Purple Bull staff principal Christian Horner (middle) along with his spouse Geri Halliwell and Purple Bull co-owner Chalerm Yoovidhya on the 2024 F1 Bahrain Grand Prix in March. Clive Rose/Getty ImagesFocus on the continued dominance of the Purple Bull staff misses the purpose, nonetheless. Verstappen will proceed to carry out simply effective no matter tensions, however there are tons of of girls who work for F1 groups who, due to F1’s normal mishandling of this entire state of affairs, are being tacitly instructed that their experiences and security inside the sport don’t matter. In the event that they communicate up, they might be ridiculed — all due to the obsessive deal with successful races and rankings.And but, the FIA and Purple Bull have made no statements or guarantees about how they’re going to assist girls (and nonbinary and trans) employees in mild of the dialog round Horner. Even the whispers of such conduct ought to launch wider investigations throughout groups, arrange a stronger whistleblower coverage, and add extra concrete penalties for senior management who do find yourself embarking on romantic relationships with workers with out clearing it with the suitable our bodies. The FIA has not responded to a request for touch upon whether or not they have began an investigation into Horner and Purple Bull by the point of this publication.However given how every F1 staff has its personal CEO and operates in a number of completely different nations, inside protocols and processes differ, in keeping with Nicole Sievers, co-founder of Two Ladies 1 Method. “In a sport that’s so closely male dominated, there are additionally seemingly pressures on girls which are working for these groups,” Sievers mentioned. “That’s a very powerful place to be in, particularly once you do see sort of the overwhelming majority of the ruling class of F1. We’ve seen that play out traditionally. Cash simply breeds energy, which breeds a lack of a sense of consequence.” On high of that, a lot of the make-up of the present media pool skews a sure manner: older, male, white. This previous guard has been overlaying F1 for a really very long time. Protection round sexism, racism, and different forms of discrimination is probably not high of thoughts.Strict guidelines on F1 protection don’t assist. Usually in American sports activities, getting press accreditation is pretty routine, however with F1, there are very strict guidelines for who’s eligible and what you possibly can produce, from prohibiting shifting pictures to not offering credentials to web sites that don’t meet sure visitors figures on their F1 protection, with comparatively small-scale offenses leading to prolonged bans.When there’s such a decent leash on reporters, asking exhausting questions with an eye fixed for accountability turns into troublesome. As Lily Herman, creator of the F1 tradition e-newsletter Engine Failure, explains, “There are all these fears that exist in F1 round, ‘Hey, if I communicate up, I’m going to get my media entry revoked or my whole media group will if I do one thing flawed.’”An ideal case examine of this dynamic will be seen with Highway & Observe’s editor-in-chief Daniel Pund taking down a crucial piece by Kate Wagner analyzing the opulence of Method 1 as a result of he felt it was the “flawed story” for the publication. The story itself was entertaining, however not essentially news-breaking, and the elimination raised questions on whether or not the FIA reached out (in keeping with Pund, they haven’t).What does this imply for girls in motorsportHow this story in the end unfolds will show if F1 understands its altering fanbase and what it takes to make its workers really feel supported, and whether or not it might get with the occasions. “As somebody who loves the game, it’s positively disappointing to see what’s occurring proper now,” mentioned Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes driver and seven-time world champion, throughout media day for this weekend’s race in Saudi Arabia. “It doesn’t look good to the skin world. It doesn’t look good from the within both. It’s a very pivotal second for the game, when it comes to what we venture to the world and the way it’s dealt with.” By sweeping such allegations underneath the rug, Purple Bull might hope the assorted dramas of the game will trigger the information to die out. That’s flawed. If something, F1’s rising feminine fanbase is hungry for accountability. “We have to firmly stake our chair to the bottom on the desk and say: ‘We’re not leaving and we’re going to power you to be higher,’” Byrne mentioned. To her, what workers face mirrors the experiences of followers. You’ll be able to’t enhance one with out the opposite, and turning off the game gained’t assist, she added. “The one manner you are able to do that isn’t by stopping, however by persevering with to go on and being louder about it.” And we’ve seen followers demand equal pay for feminine employees, security protections for all followers no matter gender identification at races, and rising alternatives for feminine drivers via F1 Academy. The game, after all, made guarantees that it’s going to do higher in these avenues. Discuss is simply speak although, if there aren’t actions to again it up when the stakes have by no means been increased. (F1 Academy, as an illustration, was criticized for not being broadcasted throughout its debut in 2023.)“I at all times query very brazenly what precisely the purpose of all of that is,” Herman mentioned, “It’s nice that ladies are getting alternatives like F1 Academy. However we should always at all times sort of query what precisely these alternatives are, what they do, and who they don’t lengthen to. What’s simply sort of lip service being paid within the second of disaster?”On the finish of the day, we’re speaking about individuals’s lives, not just a few actuality TV present. When successful is prioritized over well-being, all of us lose.Replace, July 9, 2025: This story, initially printed March 8, 2024, has been up to date on the high with information of Horner’s firing from the Purple Bull staff.