Red Bull GmbH said on Feb. 28, 2024, that an independent investigation into an employee’s accusations of controlling and inappropriate behavior by team principal Christian Horner was complete and the grievance dismissed. Horner denied the allegations, remained in his role during the investigation and was set to continue; the complainant retained a right of appeal.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has been cleared of misconduct following an investigation into a team employee's accusations of inappropriate behaviour.
By Charlotte Smith and Adam Melling ( April 30, 2024, 3:25 PM BST) -- On Feb. 5, Red Bull GmbH confirmed it was investigating its team principal, Christian Horner, after he was accused of inappropriate and coercive behavior toward a female colleague. . . .
DW reported that RB Leipzig blocked a 2015 fan banner protesting far-right group LEGIDA, and some fans received probationary stadium bans after trying to display banners the club deemed political. CEO Oliver Mintzlaff opposed political messages at games in 2017. Fan group Rasenballisten said the club’s position had improved, but earlier restrictions remained troubling.
It wasn't just Mateschitz that RB Leipzig's fans were unhappy with. According to a 2017 report by German outlet Die Zeit, there have been several clashes between the club and its fans on political grounds. One such incident saw a banner created by the fans in protest against far-right group LEGIDA blocked from entering the Red Bull Arena in 2015. Several fans received stadium banning orders on probation after attempting to display banners the club considered "party political." It is commonplace for fans in German stadiums to display banners with messages that would widely be regarded as political and face no punishment.
On Nov. 13, 2025, the European Commission opened an investigation into whether Red Bull abused its dominant position, suspecting it offered Dutch retailers incentives to stop selling rivals and disadvantaged competing drinks over 250 ml. The Commission said it would examine possible effects on prices and consumer choice; the allegations remain under investigation.
The Commission suspects that Red Bull implemented the strategy at least in the Netherlands. This consisted of granting incentives to retailers to stop selling rival energy drinks and of misusing “its position as category manager at off-trade customers so that competing energy drinks sold in sizes exceeding 250ml are delisted or disadvantaged,” the Commission said.
In a 2017 interview with Austria’s Kleine Zeitung, Red Bull CEO Dietrich Mateschitz criticized German and Austrian government policies during the 2015 refugee crisis. He questioned whether people welcoming refugees had prepared their homes for them and also criticized “international elites” and political correctness.
In a 2017 interview with Austrian outlet Kleine Zeitung, Mateschitz strongly criticized both the German and the Austrian government for their policies during the 2015 refugee crisis. "None of the people that shout ‘refugees welcome' or ‘we can do it' [a quote from German Chancellor Angela Merkel] were preparing their own guest rooms to accommodate refugees," Mateschitz said back then. The Red Bull CEO, who's also Austria's richest person according to Forbes, also criticized the "so-called international elites” and political correctness, phrases often employed by populist politicians.
A 2019 report said a Servus TV show, owned by Red Bull Media House, had hosted figures from the German-speaking far right; its editor-in-chief reportedly began reporting directly to Dietrich Mateschitz. The report also described interviewee refusals and a 2017 boycott of a Red Bull music event over Mateschitz’s views.
As Red Bull CEO, Mateschitz has media involvement in the form of Servus TV, an Austria-based channel owned by the Red Bull Media House. One of the station's shows became known in recent years for offering a platform to familiar names from the German-speaking world's far-right scene, such as Martin Sellner, the head of the Austrian Identitarian movement (also known as Generation Identity), whose German equivalent was recently announced an extreme right-wing group by security services, and Götz Kubitschek, a known German far-right activist.
OpenSecrets reports Red Bull GmbH political contributions by election cycle. In 2024, it recorded $49,652 total, with 97.6% going to Democrats and 2.4% to Republicans; in 2020, $67,626 total was split 95.35% to Democrats and 4.65% to Republicans. The figures cover reported contributions and exclude independent expenditures.
Oracle Red Bull Racing developed an AI strategy agent with Oracle that can recommend race-day actions, according to team executive Jack Harington. He said it advised giving Max Verstappen back a position after a corner-cut at the 2025 Italian Grand Prix, and that the team followed the recommendation. Harington stressed humans remain involved.
While that went against the team's competitive instincts, Red Bull followed the advice, and Verstappen subsequently overtook his rival, Harington said.
In 2014, Red Bull agreed to a proposed $13 million settlement of a U.S. class action alleging its “gives you wings” advertising misled consumers about performance and energy benefits. Eligible buyers could seek $10 or two products. Red Bull denied wrongdoing, saying it settled to avoid litigation costs and maintained its marketing was truthful.
Red Bull has agreed to pay $US13 million to settle a class action lawsuit over alleged false advertising of its energy drinks.
Ahead of Saxony’s 2019 election, Red Bull-backed RB Leipzig placed its “Our ball is colorful” campaign posters at about 300 locations, promoting tolerance and diversity. A fan researcher said it was unclear whether the club’s practices matched its marketing, while the report contrasted the campaign with CEO Dietrich Mateschitz’s past remarks.
The Bundesliga side is promoting diversity ahead of the Saxony elections. But its previous approach towards fans who publicly oppose discrimination, as well as the views held by Red Bull’s CEO, raise questions.
"Our ball is colorful" is the name of a new campaign from Bundesliga side RB Leipzig. In the accompanying poster, some of the Red Bull-backed club's players and coach Julian Nagelsmann are seen holding signs that carry the club's "Aufstellung," a word that means "lineup" or even "position." Among the messages: respectful, open to the world, diverse and tolerant. The posters were hung in some 300 locations across the eastern German state of Saxony.
While RB Leipzig's current campaign supports diversity and openness, Dietrich Mateschitz, the man considered the marketing genius behind Red Bull's meteoric commercial rise, has previously struck a very different note.
The FIA said Red Bull committed a “minor breach” of Formula 1’s $145 million 2021 spending cap. After co-owner Dietrich Mateschitz died in October 2022, Red Bull said talks over an offered accepted breach agreement were on hold. Team principal Christian Horner maintained the team had been significantly below the cap; the agreement’s terms were not public.
The FIA announced on 10 October that Red Bull committed a "minor breach" of the $145m (£114m) spending limit in 2021.
OpenSecrets’ 2022 profile for Red Bull GmbH lists $180,000 in federal lobbying spending, attributed to subsidiaries, and $0 in direct spending. The page says its figures are calculated from Senate Office of Public Records data; the supplied evidence does not identify the subsidiary or lobbying issues.