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Product cover image for Red Bull Racing’s Leadership Struggles: The Christian Horner Scandal

Red Bull Racing’s Leadership Struggles: The Christian Horner Scandal

Gerard Seijts, Ann C. Frost, Kirk Kristofferson

Product #:W44200
Supplier:Ivey
Discipline:Marketing, Organizational Behaviour/Leadership
Setting:United Kingdom, 2024
Details:Case (PDF) • 12 pages • 2025-04-29

Subjects:

LeadershipSexual harassmentCrisis managementManagement communicationCompany reputationSales and marketingOrganizational cultureMarketingOrganizational behavior

Industries:

Media, entertainment, and professional sports

Geography:

United KingdomEurope
Your Price:$9.71

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Red Bull Racing, a high-profile Formula 1 (F1) motorsport team, was gearing up for the beginning of the 2024 season. With increased viewership and scores of new fans due to the Netflix docuseries Drive to Survive, F1 was enjoying a surge in popularity. Red Bull Racing’s star driver was the favourite to win the upcoming season-opening race in Bahrain. But then the scandal hit: On February 5, 2024, news broke that Team Principal Christian Horner had been accused of “inappropriate and controlling behaviour” by a female staff member. Amid the controversy of the ongoing investigation, leaked messages, team infighting, and the loss of the important demographic of female fans, Red Bull Racing had to decide: Should they fire Horner or keep him?

Learning Objectives

This case can be used in courses or modules at the undergraduate and graduate levels dealing with leadership, human resources, business ethics, or marketing. The case would also serve well as a challenge to be addressed in a public relations course. Further, because the case is brief and more or less attention can be directed to specific issues embedded therein, the case is ideal for workshops and training sessions for executives and board directors. Since the case has elements of crisis leadership, crisis communication, marketing, brand management, and human resources, it can also be team-taught—with different faculty members each contributing their own perspective to the case’s analysis.

After working through the case and assignment questions, students will be able to do the following:
  • Describe the steps organizational leaders should take when they learn about allegations of inappropriate behaviour or sexual harassment in the organization.
  • Understand best practices in communication during personal and/or organizational crises in order to mitigate reputational damage, including the destruction of brand equity.
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Case Study: Red Bull Racing’s Leadership Struggles: The Christian Horner Scandal (English version) | Ivey Publishing