F1 Academy Director Susie Wolff reflects on Christian Horner’s time in Formula 1. The former Red Bull team boss had to leave the team last July, following earlier allegations of inappropriate behavior towards the Brit, which had already caused unrest within Red Bull. According to Wolff, the incident also overshadowed Horner’s support for the F1 Academy: ‘Suddenly, everyone only wanted to interview me about the Horner saga’.
Christian Horner saw his twenty-year tenure as team boss at Red Bull come to an end last July. The team immediately replaced the Brit with current team boss Laurent Mekies. Since then, Horner has not been seen in the paddock. Whether he will never return to Formula 1, however, remains to be seen. The former team boss is being linked to several teams for a possible comeback and is reportedly even a candidate to succeed Ferrari team boss Frédéric Vasseur.
Susie Wolff – director of the F1 Academy and wife of Horner’s great rival Toto Wolff – reflects on her collaboration with the Brit. “Christian has always supported the F1 Academy, and I will always be grateful to him for that,” Wolff tells The Sunday Times. “It was really a shame for the sport – the whole drama that arose from the allegations.”
Damage to Image
Horner was accused of inappropriate behavior towards a female Red Bull employee at the beginning of 2024. The Austrian team later cleared the former team boss after an independent investigation. However, the rumors about the Brit did not immediately go away. “We had so much positive momentum with the F1 Academy. Then all that started and suddenly everyone only wanted to interview me about that (the Horner saga). He was someone who could play a character very well. But I do think that incident was perhaps not the best for the sport’s image and showed that we still have work to do,” Wolff concludes.
