Five shock twists in Christian Horner ‘sext’ scandal from message leak, to Geri Halliwell’s fury & Red Bull ‘civil war’
CHRISITAN Horner's relief after being cleared of wrongdoing was short-lived when private messages between him and a colleague were then leaked.
The embattled Red Bull Racing chief, 50, has endured almost a month of twists and turns as he looks to save his reputation.
Horner became the focus of an internal investigation early in February after a female colleague accused him of "coercive" and "inappropriate" behaviour.
He was grilled for eight hours over claims before an independent barrister was employed to review the evidence.
On Wednesday, Red Bull revealed Horner's £8 million-a-year job was safe as he had been cleared of misconduct.
The team principal, who has led the Austrian team since its formation in 2005, has always vehemently denied allegations made against him.
More on Christian Horner
But less than 24 hours later hundreds of secret messages were leaked to the press - the latest in a series of twists in the ongoing saga threatening to overshadow the F1 season.
Red Bull wrongfooted at first
The probe got off to a rocky start straight away when the F1 team and its parent company contradicted each other.
Red Bull Racing's team office in Milton Keynes repeatedly denied the allegation of a complaint against Horner on February 4, reported.
But just a day later, Red Bull's Global Headquarters in Austria put out a statement confirming an investigation.
It is understood the statement was put out without officials at the F1 team being notified first.
Sexts surface in Dutch media
After news broke of the probe, an independent lawyer flew to the UK to question the multi-millionaire race ace and his accuser.
Horner was initially only under investigation over alleged controlling behaviour at work towards a female worker.
But fresh claims then emerged alleging Horner also sent her "sexually suggestive" texts.
Messages were claimed to have been saved and presented as evidence to the external barrister running the inquiry after the woman made a complaint last December.
Geri standing by him
Horner's wife Geri Halliwell, who he married in 2015, was said to be "in floods of tears" when news of the scandal emerged.
The Spice Girls star privately insisted he did nothing wrong, however.
The Sun reported how Geri was being supported by her Spice Girl bandmates.
A source said: "Geri has been left broken by the ordeal, but is grateful for the kindness being shown to her by friends.”
More than a week after the probe was launched, she was pictured with Horner for a day at the races at Badbury Rings, Dorset.
On Wednesday, Geri was said to be “relieved and elated” when the case against her Red Bull Racing boss husband Horner was thrown out.
But after a trove of flirty texts was leaked, their marriage is now said to be "in question".
Friends of Geri fear the latest bombshell will "destroy" the mum-of-two, who shares seven-year-old son Monty with Horner.
One pal told the outlet: "It has all come crashing down.
"The tears stopped when the judgment came in on Wednesday, now they absolutely will have started again. This will destroy her.
"All along Christian promised there was nothing in it."
Geri landed in Bahrain on Thursday - having taken off from the UK before the messages were shared.
Horner exonerated
Horner found out on Wednesday he will remain at the Red Bull Racing team’s helm after an internal three-week investigation dismissed the grievance.
It came after weeks of speculation over his future running the all-conquering team of F1 world champion Max Verstappen.
A Red Bull Austria spokesman said: "The independent investigation into the allegations made against Mr Horner is complete, and Red Bull can confirm that the grievance has been dismissed."
The team's parent company confirmed the complainant "has a right of appeal".
The spokesman added: "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.”
Horner found out his fate just minutes after landing in Bahrain ahead of the opening Grand Prix of the F1 season.
Throughout the three-week probe, the message from within the team has been that it is "business as usual".
Horner was present at the pre-season testing in Bahrain a week prior and Red Bull's 2024 car launch days prior.
After he was cleared, Horner said he was "pleased" the investigation had been completed.
Sexts leak to journalists/FIA
Just when Horner thought he was in the clear and could fully focus on the Bahrain Grand Prix, a bombshell trove of hundreds of flirty WhatsApp sexts was sent to F1 teams and media outlets.
The move was also calculated to cause maximum damage to Horner’s career - just 24 hours before the start of the new Grand Prix season in Bahrain.
Horner immediately spoke out, saying: "I won’t comment on anonymous speculation, but to reiterate, I have always denied the allegations.”
“I respected the integrity of the independent investigation and fully cooperated with it every step of the way.
“It was a thorough and fair investigation conducted by an independent specialist barrister and it has concluded, dismissing the complaint made.”
Leaked private texts appeared to suggest Red Bull Racing boss Horner, 50, pestered a female employee for pictures and engaged in secret flirty chats behind his wife’s back.
While there don't appear to be any explicit images in the messages, some of the texts are sexually suggestive in nature.
The woman - who works with Horner at the all-conquering grand prix team’s Milton Keynes HQ - apparently tired of her boss’s pleas for pictures and sexy chat, according to the WhatsApp dossier.
She asks him to stop - and even asks how the dad would feel if Geri was behaving in the same way with one of her staff.
Texts also suggest Horner became apologetic as he realised he had caused offence - and responded by asking the woman to delete their entire WhatsApp history.
The mega-leak appeared to be in line with the original accusation faced over alleged “sexually suggestive “ messages sent by Horner.
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Team Principal Horner arrived in Bahrain on Thursday and had proudly announced his team - led by world champ Max Verstappen - had “never been stronger” just hours before.
A look at Christian Horner's life and career
CHRISTIAN Horner is among the most well-known names in Formula One having helped build Red Bull into one of the biggest teams in the sport.
1973 - Born in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire
1991 - Wins a Formula Renault scholarship after impressing in karting races
1993-1997 - Competed in a host of competitions including British Formula Three, British Formula Two, and Formula 3000
1997 - Founded and developed the F3000 team Arden
1999 - Retired from driving and continued developing the Arden team
2005 - Appointed head of Red Bull team, becoming the youngest ever team principal at that time
2009 - Wins his first races as team principal with Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber
2010 - Wins the Constructors' Championship and Drivers' Championship with Vettel - the first of four doubles in a row
2013 - Has a daughter with ex-wife Beverly Allen shortly before the couple split
2014 - Gets engaged to Spice Girls member Geri Halliwell
2015 - Marries Halliwell in Woburn, Bedfordshire
2017 - Horner and Halliwell welcome their son
2021 - Wins another Drivers' Championship with Max Verstappen, beating Lewis Hamilton on the final lap of the season
2022-23 - Red Bull win the Drivers' Championship and Constructors' Championship two years in a row