- Chalerm Yoovidhya has reportedly sent a family member to spy on Red Bull’s HQ
- He and his family are stepping up their involvement with how the team is run
- There are fears changes could come, with Horner under immense pressure
Red Bull’s majority owner has reportedly sent a family member – dubbed the ‘Thai spy’ – to keep tabs on the Christian Horner scandal and the wider company.
The ‘spy’ has been taking a detailed look at each department after flying in to the company headquarters in Salzburg, as per BILD.
There are fears the Thai ownership could be poised to make sweeping changes as the ruling family have typically been hands-off until now.
Horner and the direct F1 team work from a base in Milton Keynes.
He has been mired in a scandal following accusations of ‘inappropriate behaviour’ by a female employee ahead of the 2024 season, though an internal investigation cleared him.
Red Bull’s majority owner Chalerm Yoovidhya (right) has reportedly sent a ‘spy’ to Red Bull’s HQ in Austria
Yoovidhya’s family member ‘spy’ is taking a detailed look at each department, with drastic changes feared
Hundreds of messages allegedly from Horner – some sexual – were spilled to the media and F1 powerhouses, but Red Bull affirmed he would not be sacked and his accuser has been suspended.
Chalerm Yoovidhya owns 51 per cent of Red Bull and has a staggering personal fortune in the region of £26.3billion, as reported by Forbes last year.
His family are reckoned to be the second-richest in Thailand.
According to BILD, they are ready to assert more dominance over how Red Bull’s F1 operation is run.
Company founder Dietrich Mateschitz, an Austrian billionaire who died in 2022, previously held enormous sway over the team.
Upon his passing, Horner said: ‘He was an incredible man and he loved Formula One. We owe him a great deal as a team.’
With Mateschitz no longer around, the Yoovidhya are reportedly interested in stepping up their involvement, hence the flying visit.
Previously they would just make the occasional visit to races.
The scandal surrounding Horner has been a PR disaster for F1 and many high-up figures have spoken of the need for the situation to be resolved quickly.
Horner is under enormous pressure amid the ‘sex text’ scandal after afemale employee accused him of ‘inappropriate behaviour’
Horner was cleared of wrongdoing and his accuser was suspended, but she has since launched an appeal
The woman at the centre of the Red Bull texting scandal launched an appeal against the company’s findings around Horner last week.
An internal inquiry involving a KC cleared him of wrongdoing last month and he remained in charge for the opening two races of the season.
Horner, husband to former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell, is also due to be in post for the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne on Sunday.
But he is facing further pressure with news of the appeal, which has been lodged with parent company, Red Bull GmbH, in Salzburg, rather than with the Milton Keynes-based racing team.
The woman, who has been suspended on full pay, has recently changed lawyers – a precursor to her latest legal move.
