Red Bull’s team principal, Christian Horner, was present with the team’s chief technology officer, Adrian Newey, as Max Verstappen took the team’s new car for a spin during Wednesday’s morning session. This marks the beginning of Verstappen’s pursuit of a fourth consecutive world title.
On 5 February, Red Bull’s parent company announced an investigation into allegations of misconduct towards a team employee. Horner has vehemently denied any wrongdoing and has continued to fulfill his role as team principal while the investigation takes place.
Preseason testing will span three days, starting from Wednesday and concluding on Friday, leading up to the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix at the same venue next week.
Red Bull had a strong start to their season with their new RB20 car, setting the benchmark during the first morning of F1 testing at Bahrain International Circuit. Max Verstappen topped the timing screens after the initial four hours, finishing seven-tenths of a second ahead of Charles Leclerc in the new Ferrari SF24.
Despite reports of a significant rift between Horner and Red Bull HQ in Austria, the team principal has denied the allegations. As of now, it is business as usual for the underfire 50-year-old.
Horner has been the head of Red Bull since its entry as an F1 constructor in 2005, making him the longest-serving team principal. Under his leadership, the team has achieved 13 F1 titles and 113 victories.
According to the Source grandprix247.com