Well, who could have guessed it? So the world of Formula 1 isn’t a clean-living sanctuary of good behaviour that makes a Convocation of Bishops look like the court of Caligula. Here’s a slice of F1 life: a prominent motor-racing executive walks into a room of pretty young marketing girls: ‘What’s the difference between an erection and a Ferrari?’ he asks. ‘I don’t have a Ferrari.’ Followers of the latest Formula 1: Drive to Survive series on Netflix – featuring some of the least likeable people on the planet – will have enjoyed the Wildean exchanges when Lance Stroll, the Canadian driver for Aston Martin, returns to racing after breaking his wrist in a cycling accident. ‘Can you wank yet?’ asks one of his colleagues.

If anyone is surprised by the scandal sweeping through the Red Bull team, they really should get out more 

So if anyone is surprised by the scandal sweeping through the interminably successful Red Bull team, they should really get out more. F1 men earn huge amounts of money, they have young women to do practically everything for them, they travel in executive jets and are never at home long enough to answer questions. Stirling Moss ‘chased crumpet’ (and was universally admired), James Hunt collected flight attendants like fag packets (and everybody loved him too) and Max Mosley liked a spanking.

That’s why the scale of the scandal surrounding Red Bull’s head boy Christian Horner is somewhat surprising. The woman he allegedly sent his messages to is a senior and well-regarded member of what you might call the motor-racing community. And Horner is not the most popular of men: it’s felt that he might be taking too much credit for the success of Red Bull, rather than making clear it’s a team effort. And he did leave his wife and six-month-old baby for a pop star. 

Some who have joined the pile-on are not necessarily men you would welcome into your people carrier. Max Verstappen’s not wholly lovable father Jos has weighed in with a warning that Red Bull will ‘explode’ over the scandal, and presumably the explosives stay in place until Horner – who was cleared of wrongdoing by Red Bull and has denied the allegations – steps aside. Well maybe, but it’s a bit much coming from Jos, whose career highlights include fracturing a bloke’s skull at a go-karting track.

Formula 1 always used to be a comedy punchline for a gag about the most boring things in the world. Watching the same man win race after race in the same car for the same team gets pretty tedious. But watching some of the richest sports people tearing lumps out of each other, less so.

It looks like a case of ‘be careful what you wish for’. F1 was in a slump and desperate to revive its fortunes. And with the Netflix series, which Horner starred in, that is exactly what it got. But with that success came massively increased scrutiny, hence the scandal today. Whether or not Horner gets shown the chequered flag, a shrewd, driven and self-promoting character like him should make a strong comeback after a suitable spell in the pits.

Jump racing’s blue riband event, the Cheltenham Gold Cup, celebrates its centenary next week. Expect the usual hoopla and some great racing: what we’re unlikely to see is racing itself getting on the front foot when it comes to marketing. This is a great sport, with drama, glamour, royals, adventure and derring-do. And it’s all outside. It should be a great day out for everyone. But sadly it isn’t. If you’re not a horsey person, you’re not necessarily made to feel welcome. And while Cheltenham might be the Oscars of horse-racing, it’s much easier to watch on TV at home. At the moment racing has the feel of Burberry in the 1980s: a shabby trench coat with a lingering whiff of cigar smoke. Time for a visionary to get hold of it – racing, not Burberry (that has already happened).