The employee who accused Red Bull F1 team boss Christian Horner of inappropriate behaviour has been suspended by the company, sources with knowledge of the situation confirmed to ESPN.

Last week Horner was cleared of misconduct after a lengthy investigation by parent company Red Bull GmbH.

The employee, who still has the right to appeal the verdict, has been suspended with full pay.

Her suspension is related to the findings of the investigation, sources told ESPN.

A Red Bull spokesperson said: “The company cannot comment on this internal matter.”

In a news conference on Thursday, Horner himself said he couldn’t comment “on anything confidential between an employee and a company.”

Horner remained in charge of the team throughout the investigation.

He was already due to speak to the media on Thursday as part of the buildup to F1’s second race of the year, the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

The start of the F1 season has been overshadowed by the Horner investigation and the fallout.