LONDON – Red Bull boss Christian Horner has responded to claims that staff were increasingly looking to leave his team by saying the Formula One champions have so far taken 220 employees from rivals Mercedes.
Dominant Red Bull have been unsettled by allegations against Horner of misconduct towards a female employee, which the 50-year-old has denied and been cleared of following an independent investigation.
The matter is now subject to an appeal from the supposed victim who has since been suspended.
Star designer Adrian Newey, meanwhile, has announced he is leaving in 2025 – reportedly partly because of this issue – and McLaren boss Zak Brown said at the Miami Grand Prix that resumes from Red Bull were flying around and Newey was the first domino to fall.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff, who has been making overtures to Red Bull’s triple world champion Max Verstappen with Ferrari-bound Lewis Hamilton’s seat to fill, also said his team had “seen Red Bull CVs through all of the levels”.
But Horner told reporters after the May 5 race in Miami – where McLaren’s Lando Norris took his first win – that there would always be movement between teams.
“I don’t know how many people we’ve employed from McLaren this year or how many people VCARB (Red Bull’s RB sister team) have employed (from) Mercedes,” he added.
“We’ve taken 220 people, 220 out of HPP (Mercedes AMG’s High Performance Powertrains) into Red Bull Powertrains, so when we’re talking of losing people... I’d be a bit more worried about the 220 (leaving) than maybe one or two CVs.”
Red Bull are building their own powertrain for 2026, when the sport undergoes a major engine rule change, with a major expansion at their Milton Keynes facility.
Horner also said that it was “inevitable” that Brown and Wolff would be stirring things up through the media.
“The two candidates involved, they talk a lot,” he said.
“But I am not going to get sucked into a tit-for-tat. I would be more focused on Toto’s own issues that he has.”
In other Formula One news, the chairman of the US House of Representatives Judiciary Committee has launched an investigation into the rejection of Andretti Cadillac’s bid to become the sport’s 11th team, NBC News reported.
NBC published a letter from Republican Jim Jordan to Formula One chief executive Stefano Domenicali and Liberty Media president and chief Greg Maffei in which possible “anti-competitive conduct” was mentioned.
Andretti Global is led by 1991 Cart champion Michael Andretti, son of 1978 Formula One world champion and 1969 Indianapolis 500 winner Mario Andretti.
Liberty Media-owned Formula One ruled out the bid in January, doubting it would be competitive or add value, but kept a door open for 2028 when partner General Motors could provide an engine.
The FIA governing body had approved the application in October 2023 and sent it on for assessment to Formula One Management, whose rejection left the regulator at odds with the commercial rights holder.
Mr Jordan’s letter said “excuses put forward for denying Andretti Cadillac’s entry appear to be “pretextual, arbitrary and unrelated to Andretti Cadillac’s suitability to compete in Formula One”.
“As the committee examines this matter and considers potential legislation around the structure and competition of sports leagues, we write to request a staff-level briefing on the decision to deny Andretti Cadillac’s application to join Formula One,” he added.
Mr Jordan called for the briefing to be held as soon as possible and no later than May 21, when Formula One will be preparing to race around the glamorous harbour-side streets of Monaco.
Mario Andretti, 84, had told Sky Sports television at the Miami Grand Prix that the preparations to enter Formula One were continuing at pace.
“We’re working every day on it. We’re ready to meet whatever challenge there is, just tell us what and we’re in,” he said. “We‘re preparing in every possible way and our intention is to be on the grid in 2026.” REUTERS, AFP
