The F1 scandal is a corporate car crash
An Article By Ian Kilbride Published on 13 March 2024.
It is remarkable that an alleged private sex scandal is threatening to red flag one of the most iconic and successful sports teams in history. The festering furore swirling around the Red Bull racing team is playing itself out from Milton Keynes to Monaco, but principally through the global power of social media. How is it possible that the leaking of a few WhatsApp messages, albeit with some salacious content, can plunge a team at the height of its powers into such an existential crisis?
The answer lies somewhere in the question. For starters, F1 today is much more than just the pinnacle of motor racing. It is a multi-billion-dollar global corporate enterprise and the media is its fuel of choice. As such, the rules of engagement have changed unrecognisably from the days of young, prodigiously talented drivers strapped into potential death traps and putting their lives on the line while racing around roads more suited to Citroen saloons than McLarens.
While for many fans F1 the fascination revolves around a Verstappen versus Hamilton, (or did when Lewis was competitive), the business end of the sport is all about companies, brands and global media exposure. This is where Red Bull in particular is both strong and vulnerable. In many respects, Red Bull is a uniquely powerful and popular global brand as much as it is an energy drink. Indeed, not since the colourful days of Benneton has F1 been dominated by a ‘brand’ rather than a car manufacturer. Very few can remember the BMW, Ford and Renault engines powering the Benettons and even today, the phenomenal Honda engine propelling Red Bull to unrivaled success derives little credit in the public’s mind’s eye.
Obviously, Benetton and Red Bull needed racing brand ambassadors to succeed, and both achieved this in Michael Schumacher and Max Verstappen respectively. Consequentially, any threat to the brand, such as a high-profile sex scandal needs to be dealt with at the corporate level. Sex scandals and sport are first cousins of course. Indeed, the very public ‘private life’ of an F1 driver such as James Hunt was all part of his appeal and the sport’s mystique. Not so for a team principal however, who today is the public face of the entire team and company behind it.
In the case of Red Bull, its principal, Christian Horner, has not only coveted media attention over the years, but he also happens to be married to another media celebrity in former Spice Girl, Geri Halliwell. Beyond the media facing persona, Horner is responsible for internal and external governance of the team and notably the development of Red Bull’s young drivers’ academy and development programme. In other words, as principal he sets the standard for the team. So, when the news broke that Horner was being investigated for inappropriate and controlling behaviour towards a junior female Red Bull employee and that the reported evidence was contained in WhatsApp messages, media DRS was enabled, followed by all its attendant dirty air.
For a brand so media savvy, Red Bull has managed the Horny Horner saga worse than a Ferrari pit stop. Remarkably, it is now confronted by its home-grown world champion publicly questioning the team’s governance and management, while indirectly challenging the very person who employed him. The split is deeper than just Verstappen versus Horner, however. With the death of Red Bull co-owner Dietrich Mateschitz in 2022, the ownership structure of the F1 team is also in play. The charismatic and visionary Mateschitz imbued a spirit of adventure, risk taking and internal development within the F1 team. He also instilled an ethos of mutual respect, ethics and discrete personal conduct. Whether true or not, the lingering accusations and rumours surrounding Horner’s alleged behaviour serve to undermine this ethos and in turn, the team spirit.
At another level, however, suspicions swirl regarding the motivation for the Horner WhatsApp leaks and their distribution to the media. After all, just a few months ago, speculation was rife that Red Bull were responsible for alerting the media to a potential conflict of interest and breach of confidentiality between Mercedes principal Toto Wolff and his wife Susie who heads the F1 Academy. To say that there is no love lost between the Red Bull and Mercedes team principals, particularly after the 2021 Abu Dhabi grand prix scandal which saw Verstappen snatch his first F1 championship, is an understatement.
But in the final analysis, irrespective of the global profile, glamour and competitiveness of F1, the Horner controversy raises a number of broader and deeper questions regarding personal and corporate behaviour, particularly in the anarchic world of social media. Three come to mind immediately.
Should a line be drawn between personal and corporate behaviour beyond which the media should not probe and publish? As the dominant force in F1, Horner’s results for Red Bull speak for themselves, and does it really matter (and is it anyone’s business) that he may have had a crush on a female employee, this happens all the time in all walks of life and apparently over 60% of people meet their future spouse at work.
Alternatively, is there a particular responsibility for corporate leaders to set an example in their private lives and with respect to employees, especially younger and easily influenced juniors in particular. Surely no boss should ever exploit his/her position of power and particularly not in relation to sex.
The third broader issue relates to privacy of communication in the social media age. One now has to assume, and the evidence shows that ‘encrypted’ or not, no social media message across any platform is truly private. Everything is accessible, everything can be and is recorded, everything in the social media space resides in the cloud. The overarching lesson from the Red Bull leadership car crash is not only to treat employees with dignity and respect, but to regard every social media communication as potentially public, because potentially it is.
