Red Bull Chief Horner Says He Wants Investigation Resolved ‘As Soon As Possible’

SAKHIR, Bahrain: Red Bull group principal Christian Horner indicated on Thursday he hopes the continuing investigation into alleged misconduct by him shall be resolved “as soon as possible” because the Formula 1 season nears.

The Red Bull dad or mum firm stated on Feb. 5 it was investigating allegations of misconduct towards a group worker. Horner denies any wrongdoing and has continued to work. No timeline for the investigation to conclude has been made public.

“Everybody would like a conclusion as soon as possible, but I’m really not at liberty to comment about the process,” Horner stated through the second of three days of preseason testing in Bahrain. The first race is subsequent week.

F1 and governing physique FIA have beforehand issued statements urging a fast decision to the investigation. McLaren chief govt Zak Brown stated on Thursday he hoped the investigation could be “handled in a very transparent way” following the same name for transparency the day earlier than from Mercedes’ Toto Wolff.

On the observe, Carlos Sainz Jr. led the way in which for Ferrari with a time that was quickest by .758 seconds from Red Bull’s Sergio Perez, with Lewis Hamilton third-fastest for Mercedes. Hamilton was driving in an official F1 occasion for Mercedes for the primary time since his transfer to Ferrari for subsequent season was introduced. He will exchange Sainz on the Italian group.

Teams can solely have one driver on observe per testing session. Defending champion Max Verstappen, who was quickest on Wednesday, didn’t drive for Red Bull on Thursday.

The morning session of testing was lower quick after Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Hamilton ran over a unfastened drain cowl on a curb. That left particles on the circuit and led to an inspection of the observe.

The decreased session lower into Perez’s observe time, so Red Bull modified its plans and gave him the automotive for the night session too.

Perez’s day was briefly disrupted once more when his automotive appeared to undergo a technical fault and he needed to crawl again to the pits in first gear, although he was quickly underway once more.

The third and final day of testing is Friday earlier than the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix subsequent week on the identical venue.

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(This story has not been edited by News18 workers and is revealed from a syndicated information company feed – Associated Press)