Christian Horner looks relaxed as he returns to Bahrain’s F1 track, despite his marriage to Geri Halliwell now ‘in question’ after her ‘meltdown over humiliating leak of his texts to female employee’
- Humiliating texts allegedly despatched by Christian Horner had been leaked on Thursday
- Horner’s marriage to former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell is now ‘in query’
- But he appeared in a relaxed temper forward of qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix
Christian Horner was again within the Bahraini paddock this morning after salacious messages he allegedly despatched a female worker got here to mild on Thursday afternoon.
The 50-year-old husband of former Spice Girl, Geri, vowed to battle on inside hours of the scandal deepening.
After an evening’s reflection, he remains to be clinging on at Red Bull, the crew he has run for 19 years and led to 13 world championships, and intends to be on the pit wall for qualifying this afternoon forward of Saturday’s opening grand prix of the season within the Gulf kingdom.
He can also be preventing to save his nine-year marriage to Geri, who is claimed to ‘have had a total meltdown’ on the leak.
Hundreds of WhatsApp messages, many of a sexual nature, had been despatched to 149 of Formula One’s key figures, together with all Horner’s fellow crew principals, through an nameless account. FIA president Mohammad ben Sulayem, who’s due within the paddock immediately, was additionally among the many recipients.
Ben Sulayem and F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali are set to maintain a gathering to focus on the leaks, and it stays to be seen whether or not the governing physique will launch their very own investigation.
The storm blew up after Horner had been cleared on Wednesday of ‘coercive behaviour’ by an inner inquiry performed by Red Bull’s mother or father firm in Salzburg.
This morning Horner was talking to a senior FOM determine on the crew’s hospitality space.
‘I will not comment on anonymous speculation,’ mentioned Horner in his assertion on Thursday after the e-mail landed. ‘But to reiterate I’ve all the time denied the allegations.
‘I revered the integrity of the unbiased investigation and absolutely cooperated with it each step of the best way.
‘It was an intensive and truthful investigation performed by an unbiased specialist barrister, and it has concluded dismissing the criticism made.
‘I stay absolutely centered on the beginning of the season.’
Horner additionally modified his WhatsApp avatar yesterday. It is not the picture that seems on the alleged exchanges with the girl in query.
Horner’s spouse, former Spice Girl Halliwell, had deliberate to fly out to the Grand Prix going down in Bahrain this weekend to reunite publicly with Horner, however these shut to the previous popstar have mentioned it’s now ‘extremely unlikely’ that she is going to be a part of him.
Instead the mother-of-two has been left ‘feeling humiliated’ after the messages had been unfold ‘so broadly on the market’, a pal added.
Hundreds of intimate WhatsApp exchanges purportedly between Horner and the colleague had been launched through an nameless electronic mail account.
Horner was solely cleared by Red Bull’s Salzburg-based mother or father firm – and instructed he might keep on as crew principal of the world-championship on a £8million-a-year-salary – 24 hours earlier than the texts dropped.
Halliwell had instructed buddies that she was ‘relieved and elated’ that the claims in opposition to her associate, with whom she shares seven-year-old son Monty, had lastly been dropped.
Friends of the ex-Spice Girl instructed the Mail she thought the scandal had ‘lastly gone away’ however have warned the looks of the intimate messages – to which there are 79 screenshots – might ‘destroy’ her.
One mentioned: ‘All alongside Christian promised there was nothing in it.’
Another mentioned he now fears for the way the star, who has been left mortified on the embarrassing fall out, will likely be ready to comprehend such a public humiliation.
He mentioned: ‘Geri has been residing on this comfortable, comfortable bubble for thus a few years now, she thought she had her prince and her knight in shining armour however now this.
‘She thought that it had all gone away, she was delighted and over the moon when she discovered Christian had been cleared.
‘Geri was pilloried when she obtained along with Christian as a result of he had simply had one other child with one other girl however she has labored onerous to rid that picture of herself and Christian, and particularly that she is a homewrecker.
‘Now it has all come crashing down. The tears stopped when the judgment got here in on Wednesday, now they completely can have began once more.
‘This will destroy her. All alongside Christian promised there was nothing in it.’
One supply shut to the star mentioned that she ‘wasn’t certain what to consider’ all through the saga however was decided to get via it with their marriage unscathed.
‘Geri is not any fish spouse however she lastly obtained the person she needed and she or he will not need to let him go. This might find yourself being an enormous dilemma for her,’ the supply mentioned.
The tranche of messages had been despatched to FIA president Mohammad Ben Sulayem and F1 chief government Stefano Domenicali. All the crew principals had been copied in, together with star driver Max Verstappen’s father Jos.
Earlier this month Halliwell had briefly unfollowed world champion Verstappen on Instagram after the allegations in opposition to Horner first got here to mild. Sources shut to the star mentioned tonight that this was an ’emotional response’ which she thought would go unnoticed.
Reigning world champion Verstappen was quizzed forward of the Bahrain Grand Prix yesterday over whether or not Red Bull’s probe into Horner had impacted or altered the crew’s preparations for the season.
The Dutchman, insisting that his focus has not been altered, replied: ‘It would not. I’m very centered on simply the efficiency of the automotive and myself.
‘Hopefully it will likely be resolved very quickly. It’s an entire crew effort that everybody has to stick collectively and work to extra success, in order that’s why it is necessary to get all the things resolved very quickly.
‘(Horner) is essential in any other case he would not have been in that place for such a very long time.’
The intense highlight on Horner in current weeks had already began to take a pressure on the couple’s dwelling life – which they cut up between their farmhouse, and stables, in Oxfordshire and a house in North London.
A supply shut to the pair mentioned final evening the previous couple of weeks had been ‘hell for Christian and his household’ and he had all the time branded the claims as being ‘nuts’.
‘Geri is devastated and has been struggling to eat and sleep. Her household and fellow Spice Girls are frightened about her,’ the supply mentioned final week forward of Horner being cleared.
‘I hear Christian is making an attempt to pep her up to keep constructive, however she has gone to floor in the best way she did after she left the Spice Girls. She’s not talking to anybody.’
Shortly after the leak yesterday, Horner launched a press release which learn: ‘I cannot touch upon nameless hypothesis, however to reiterate I’ve all the time denied the allegations.
‘I revered the integrity of the unbiased investigation and absolutely cooperated with it each step of the best way.
‘It was an intensive and truthful investigation performed by an unbiased specialist barrister, and it has concluded dismissing the criticism made. I stay absolutely centered on the beginning of the season.’
Announcing its conclusion on Wednesday, the corporate mentioned: ‘The unbiased investigation into the allegations made in opposition to Mr Horner is full, and Red Bull can affirm that the grievance has been dismissed.
The complainant has a proper of enchantment. Red Bull is assured that the investigation has been truthful, rigorous and neutral.’
Halliwell and Horner combined in social circles earlier than they struck up a romance, having first met one another on the Monaco Grand Prix in 2009.
‘[Geri] was a visitor of [former CEO of the Formula One Group] Bernie Ecclestone’s in Monaco one 12 months and got here down the pit lane,’ Horner beforehand instructed The Telegraph. ‘I bear in mind [McLaren boss] Ron Dennis was standing subsequent to me and Eddie Jordan was there as nicely.
‘She gave Ron a kiss on the cheek, and she or he gave Eddie a kiss on the cheek. So I assumed, ‘OK, I’m on for a kiss on the cheek right here!’ And I went to give her one and she or he shoved her hand out at me.’
Their relationship, nevertheless, obtained off to a rocky begin, coming beneath fireplace after the Red Bull chief left his long-term associate Beverley Allen six months after she gave beginning to their daughter Olivia.
While the couple took a brief break to see if Horner might rescue his relationship with the mom of his baby, simply 9 months later he introduced his engagement to Ginger Spice in an commercial within the The Times in 2014.
It mentioned: ‘The engagement is introduced between Christian, son of Mr and Mrs G.M. Horner and Geraldine, daughter of the late Mr L.F. Halliwell and Mrs A Parkinson.’
The former Spice Girl and Red Bull boss tied the knot at St Mary’s Church in Woburn, Bedfordshire, in 2015.
Halliwell’s A-line lace bridal robe was designed by British designer Phillipa Lepley.
Her nine-year-old daughter, Bluebell, whom she had with screenwriter Sacha Gervasi in 2005, additionally attended the marriage.
Guests included Geri’s former Spice Girls co-star Emma Bunton, radio presenter and singer Myleene Klass, and TV presenter Amanda Holden.
Christian’s mother and father had been reportedly left devastated when the sporting skilled left Ms Allen to be with the chart-topping star and due to this fact selected not to see the duo tie the knot.
A supply shut to the couple beforehand mentioned: ‘Geri and Christian are upset that his mother and father aren’t coming.’
Horner has headed Red Bull since he was a 31-year-old in 2005. He was then the youngest crew principal on the grid, but is now its longest-serving.
