When Christian Horner will learn his fate: JONATHAN McEVOY on the crisis clouding F1 – plus how Lewis Hamilton missed Netflix cut

This should not take longer than necessary. The Christian Horner saga filled every conversation at the Bahrain International Circuit on Thursday and the man at the center of it did the best he could as if it was ‘business as normal’.

That has been his favorite statement since allegations emerged that he is under investigation for allegedly coercive behavior toward a female employee, allegations he strongly denies.

And he stuck to the mantra by walking across the sun-drenched paddock, where pre-season testing takes place, to take his place at a press conference – an appointment he kept as if, yes, it was ‘business as normal’ . Afterwards he signed the hats of the guests on the Red Bull terrace. He shook a few hands and posed for selfies. It was, of course, a forced bonhomie, the brave outward face of a proud individual in the crisis of his life, all paraded for public consumption and the ubiquitous sound wave of the Netflix crew.

BTW: What a miss he would be for broadcasters if he left the sport after 19 years. He and Spice Girl wife Geri bring glamor to the show. Together with Toto Wolff, his great interlocutor at Mercedes, he is one of the two modern giants of the team boss’s Piranha Club and has never been consciously shy in front of a camera. Not even now, if you clearly view the exposure with slightly less pleasure than before.

The prosecutor could hardly be more optimistic, far from the spotlight and the rows of photographers who followed his every step.

Horner has insisted that things are normal in Bahrain, despite an ongoing investigation

Horner and his Spice Girl wife Geri would be a miss for broadcasters if he were to leave the sport

So it is undoubtedly good news for everyone involved that I can announce the findings of the investigation. Led by an unnamed KC, they are expected to be submitted to Red Bull’s board for determination in the coming days. A resolution is expected before the opening round of the world championship next week in this Gulf kingdom.

Horner, 50, with so much at stake in his £8m-a-year job, would welcome such speed. He spoke Thursday of a conclusion “as soon as possible,” although his supporters say he “respects the investigation no matter how long it takes.” takes’. One said: ‘This is not a public inquiry.’

This week in Bahrain, where the Red Bull car was ominously fast, Wolff and McLaren boss Zak Brown called for transparency.

Wolff described it as ‘a problem for the entire Formula 1’. Brown said yesterday: ‘The allegations are extremely serious. McLaren adheres to the highest standards of diversity, equality and inclusion.

“These are extremely important for us and our partners, and for everyone in Formula 1.

‘Red Bull Corporation has started an investigation and all we hope and assume is that it will be handled in a very transparent manner, and, as the FIA ​​​​and Formula 1 have said, quickly, because these are not the headlines that Formula 1 wants. or needs.’

A resolution in Horner’s case is expected ahead of the opening round of the F1 season

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff calls Horner’s case a ‘problem for the entire Formula 1’

Back in the Red Bull hospitality area in one of the most pleasant paddocks in the sport – only big enough, but intimate, perfectly sized for gossip to travel door to door from one team to the next – sat Max Verstappen, their three-time and reigning world champion. He did a media tour with Dutch journalists.

It is a joke that Red Bull’s PR lady is listening. She doesn’t understand a word of Dutch. But whatever Max said, I know him well enough to suspect that he would want the instability caused by the questions about his boss’s future to be overcome. Race, sleep, race, sleep, is his style.

Yes, in some ways it’s ‘business as normal’ at the 13th World Championship winning company, with the mechanics and engineers doing their polished work like perfection in the garage. But this is not business as usual, and it won’t be until this matter is resolved.

Newey deserves a knighthood

Adrian Newey, history’s greatest car designer, said hello as I took the temperature at the Red Bull team base. He is a happy man right now. They’re all there, grinning from ear to ear. Because his new machine is a rocket – more than a second faster in testing than a year ago, when they won all but one of 22 races.

Nine motorsport greats have been knighted (if you count Sir Ron Dennis, officially honored for charity works), dating back to the time of Sir Henry Segrave, then the fastest man on land and water, and dead at the age of 33.

Newey, a genius who draws his designs with pencil on paper, certainly deserves a mention on the ennobled list.

Adrian Newey has designed a Red Bull car that is over a second faster than last year’s

Drive to Survive causes red faces at Mercedes

The new and sixth Drive to Survive series will be broadcast on Friday. Mercedes’ involvement revolves around their contract talks with Lewis Hamilton. They thought the contract was neatly written with a bow on it when he committed to their cause last year. A contract for two seasons, with the prospect of a lifelong ambassadorial role.

The seven-time world champion told Netflix that he was married to the Silver Arrows. Toto Wolff was of the opinion that red would not suit him after all. All very understandably smug.

That was before Hamilton used a release clause to move to Ferrari in 2025, in what was the biggest story of the winter break until the you-know-what scandal broke.

It was too late to cut or edit the material from the program. So red overalls for Hamilton and red faces at Mercedes.

Lewis Hamilton’s contract talks with Mercedes are at the center of the latest Drive to Survive series

Hamilton-backed film set in 2025

I’m told the Lewis Hamilton-backed Formula 1 film is now gaining momentum and will be released sometime in late summer next year as planned.

Progress was slowed by the recent strikes in Hollywood, but with an accelerated edit everything would be on track. Brad Pitt, starring a washed-up driver who returns to motorsport as team boss, will film in person again during the British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

Russell is growing in stature ahead of Hamilton’s departure

George Russell, at 6ft 1in one of the tallest F1 drivers in a Lilliputian world, seemed to have grown a fraction when I spoke to him in Bahrain. “You look bigger,” I said. “I think so,” he replied. “I hung out at a bar.” That and stretching and yoga – classes for all of us slumped over laptops.

His shoulders are also back now that Hamilton will leave for Ferrari in a year’s time. His desire to become No. 1 at Mercedes was secured when it looked like it would take a long time to inherit that status. At 26, he wants the job and he’s clearly a talent.

However, judging by the tests, Mercedes is still a long way off Red Bull’s pace – who isn’t? He told me the car “felt good to drive, but let’s see what the stopwatch says.” It seems to be the hard facts that cause the problems.

Specific times during the mock war depend on the amount of fuel cars are carrying, whether they try this part or the other, so there are plenty of caveats, but Mercedes seems to be in a group with Ferrari, McLaren and Aston Martin as the best of all. the non-Red Bull rest. Work to be done, guys!

George Russell appears to have grown in stature as he prepares to become Mercedes’ number 1 driver

Drivers wrongly complain about a lack of testing time

Fernando Alonso was just one driver to complain about a lack of adequate pre-season testing, with action postponed on Thursday due to a loose drainage cover. “More time to clean their cars,” they shout.

Eight hours of running on each of the three days isn’t bad here. That’s a total of 24 hours, as even this GCSE C grader mathematician can calculate, and certainly plenty of time in this age of bulletproof reliability.

Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso has complained about the lack of adequate pre-season testing

Mercedes marks the birthday of the great Niki Lauda

Niki Lauda would have turned 75 on Thursday. As the three-time world champion was non-executive chairman of Mercedes, his old teammates enjoyed the Austrian pancake-based dessert Kaiserschmarrn in their catering area on Thursday evening.

Niki was loyal to me when I had a few fights with his lieutenants, and by any reasonable assessment a great man.

Sky commentator misses three races

David Croft will sit out three races this year and has not missed a single one in his 12 years as Sky’s respected chief commentator. His place will be taken by Harry Benjamin from BBC Radio 5 Live.