‘She is scared, intimidated and lonely’: Friend of Christian Horner complainant reveals

The female employee who accused Red Bull team principal Christian Horner of inappropriate behaviouris "scared, intimidated and lonely", according to one of her family friends, as quoted by BBC in a report.

The woman's friend said she "struggled to understand" how Red Bull suspended her following the complaint, lodged in December last year.

"It's impossible for people to understand what it's like for her. She can't talk and she won't talk," the friend told the publication.

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"But I can tell you what it is doing to her. Every time I have asked her something, she breaks down in tears and says she's got no one to talk to because she's not allowed to talk," the friend added.

"She is very upset, very angry, very scared, very intimidated, very lonely. And I think it's impossible for people to understand without being in her shoes what it's like for her."

The Milton Keynes employee and Red Bull have reportedly signed a confidentiality agreement which means she cannot divulge any details outside, apart from confiding in her father and brother.

WhatsApp texts genuine

A recent Guardian report stated that that the complainant will take her case to an employment tribunal if the current complaint with the FIA is also dismissed.

If the suspended Red Bull employee takes the tribunal route, it would mean that all the private details of the case would come into the public domain. Barring an email that was leaked after Red Bull gave a clean chit to Horner, nothing related to the case has come out in public so far.

The said email leaked to the FIA, F1, the other nine teams and media, contained messages purporting to be between the woman and Horner. The authenticity of the messages and media has not been confirmed or denied by Red Bull so far.

The friend, however, said the WhatsApp texts were genuine and that both parties had exchanged them.

"We can all read the WhatsApps and anybody can come to their own conclusion whether that was an appropriate relationship between a CEO and a PA."

Since the allegations first surfaced during the pre-season testing, Horner has maintained that he is innocent and that he remains "absolutely confident" of staying at the helm for the remainder of the season.

The Red Bull also said three-time champion Max Verstappen was free toleave the team if he desired and that he wouldn't stand in his way as no individual was bigger than the team.

(With inputs from agencies)