Christian Horner under Investigation

[Venturiation]

Better be fake or this is straight embarrassing.

looks like legit whatsapp messages, that's how my whatsap chat looks

[continuum16]

...

Could be a team of independent hackers!

It very well could be; still doesn't mean the information isn't stolen. Either way someone, somewhere, clearly wants this to be some kind of witch hunt so we will see how this pans out.

[MV8]

I mean, I read some screenshots and its seem like... mutual (?)

Edit: Maybe it was mutual and then the thing turned creepy, who knows

[taperoo2k]

Independent of Horner's actions, whatever they may be, I find the "I didn't get the outcome I wanted from the legal system, so I'm going to take it to the court of public opinion" strategy extremely repulsive. Disappointing is not strong enough of a word. People have no standards, no respect for institutions, no qualms about the fact that sensationalism sells better than due process. It's the kind of legal strategy you'd expect from an Orwell story or in a more satirical or darkly humorous context a Verhoeven movie like Robocop or Starship Troopers. I am not familiar with European legal proceedings, but the fact that these files were obtained in the first place suggests at best questionable actions, possibly even tampering with an investigation or someone who, after the fact, took the law into their own hands. Surely there are NDAs on this; it's not uncommon for far less sensitive topics to be hit with NDAs, so already you have legal issues there. IF this information was stolen that opens another can of worms. If it's not true, then this would be a prime candidate for a slander/libel suit. Maybe this is OT but there isn't really somewhere else on this site such a message would be appropriate.

Document leaks happen all the time. If the leak is legit, then it's someone with access to the files and the ability to cover their tracks alongside knowing the contact details for team bosses, FOM etc that might not be known to the public, also adds a little weight to this being legit.

I expect we'll see the files leaked within hours or selected excerpts. Injunctions and Libel laws in the UK are far more powerful than an NDA. Whoever's leaked it probably won't care either way, real or fake about NDA's.

[mendis]

Better be fake or this is straight embarrassing.

looks like legit whatsapp messages, that's how my whatsap chat looks

You should have put 18+ warning. It's explosive!

[continuum16]

Better be fake or this is straight embarrassing.

looks like legit whatsapp messages, that's how my whatsap chat looks

Does your whatsapp also include pictures of Horner

Hopefully my humor is not misplaced. On a more serious note, the consensus from reddit (there is quite the spectrum of confidence one can have in that) is that these are fake. Anyone with photoshop could produce accurate-looking messages from any app in a few minutes. I don't buy it, but admittedly I can't give a definitive verdict.

[continuum16]

...

Document leaks happen all the time. If the leak is legit, then it's someone with access to the files and the ability to cover their tracks alongside knowing the contact details for team bosses, FOM etc that might not be known to the public, also adds a little weight to this being legit.

I expect we'll see the files leaked within hours or selected excerpts. Injunctions and Libel laws in the UK are far more powerful than an NDA. Whoever's leaked it probably won't care either way, real or fake about NDA's.

I agree with this. I just am not sure why someone would go to such lengths and not just to the police if the matter was serious. (rhetorically speaking)

[214270]

Better be fake or this is straight embarrassing.

looks like legit whatsapp messages, that's how my whatsap chat looks

You should have put 18+ warning. It's explosive!

There was another post on reddit with some explicit imgs. It was taken down so it could be it was fake or maybe it was real but removed because it violates the community terms. It’s fast moving

[adekf193]

can we post this? i'll delete if not

This is fake guys, the middle photo comes from the well-known scandal of a Polish sports journalist

[Stylus_XL]

For what's it's worth, there are "novelty" apps that allow you to fake screenshots of WhatsApp conversations - it's not hard to do in the slightest.

[taperoo2k]

...

Document leaks happen all the time. If the leak is legit, then it's someone with access to the files and the ability to cover their tracks alongside knowing the contact details for team bosses, FOM etc that might not be known to the public, also adds a little weight to this being legit.

I expect we'll see the files leaked within hours or selected excerpts. Injunctions and Libel laws in the UK are far more powerful than an NDA. Whoever's leaked it probably won't care either way, real or fake about NDA's.

I agree with this. I just am not sure why someone would go to such lengths and not just to the police if the matter was serious. (rhetorically speaking)

If real, it's clear somebody wants Horner out of Red Bull. Also, I'd guess that the independent investigation will have verified the WhatsApp messages as being legitimate with an appendix noting all of that. If fake? It'll unravel fairly quickly.

[SiLo]

looks like legit whatsapp messages, that's how my whatsap chat looks

You should have put 18+ warning. It's explosive!

There was another post on reddit with some explicit imgs. It was taken down so it could be it was fake or maybe it was real but removed because it violates the community terms. It’s fast moving

it was posted as a tweet link earlier in this thread. The files have the same names but clearly different pictures.

[SoulPancake13]

IF these messages are real, I can understand the complaint and the dismissal. Nothing wrong legally, but definitely a power imbalance there that is not appropriate.

[f1isgood]

Erik van Haren is the only guy so far who has publicly claimed he has seen all this evidence.

Apart from him, the independent barrister, Horner and the victim would have access to the evidence other than the RB board.

It is clear that regardless of whatever happens, someone wants Horner sacked from RB. Power struggle theories make far more sense now. Don't see any other reason for the leak.

Either van Haren but more likely RB Austria. Seems quite clear there is a split between the Austrian side of the business and the Thai side, but the Thais have a controlling stake.

Yeah this looks very likely.

[TFSA]

I may be a bit blunt here, so i apologize in advance, but anyone who can't tell that this is fake needs a pair of glasses.

The selfies of Horner in the leak is absolutely fake (either AI generated, or a really poor Photoshop job), and the texts doesn't lend much credibility to it either, unless Horner writes like a 14 year old kid.

Other people on Reddit have also pointed out other inconsistencies in regards to the WhatsApp presentation, which according to them have small deviations from the real WhatsApp, and it's likely to come from a "fake chat" service (I'm no expert of WhatsApp, so I'm doing a pass on that evaluation).