The allegations against Christian Horner have been dismissed

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has been cleared of inappropriate behaviour after an investigation rejected the complaint that had been made against him by a female colleague.

“The independent investigation into the allegations made against Mr Horner is complete, and Red Bull can confirm that the grievance has been dismissed,” said the team’s parent company in a statement. “The complainant has a right of appeal.

“Red Bull is confident that the investigation has been fair, rigorous and impartial. The investigation report is confidential and contains the private information of the parties and third parties who assisted in the investigation and therefore we will not be commenting further out of respect for all concerned.

“Red Bull will continue striving to meet the highest workplace standards.”

News of the investigation broke more than three weeks ago, when Red Bull announced it had hired ‘an external specialist barrister’ to look into the matter. It said at the time that it was taking the complaint ‘extremely seriously’.

Horner has always denied any wrongdoing and was interviewed by the unnamed lawyer a few days later. Since then, pressure has been heaped on Red Bull - most notably from F1 itself, the FIA and future F1 partners Ford - to resolve the issue quickly amid fears of reputational damage being done to the sport.

Many had expected Horner to be suspended pending the outcome of the investigation, but the 50-year-old was present at the launch of the RB20 a fortnight ago and at pre-season testing in Bahrain last week.

The exact nature of the complaint has never been made public, although reports have frequently suggested Horner was accused of inappropriate and controlling behaviour towards a member of staff, and this has never been disputed by Red Bull.

But having been cleared of those claims, he will now take his place on the pit wall for the opening grand prix of the season on Saturday.