Christian Horner latest: Geri appears on F1 grid in support of husband at Bahrain race after leaked messages

Brudle performed his famous grid walk on Sky Sports at the season-opening race in Bahrain, with Evra one of the first celebrities he encountered.

Wearing a bright pink suit, the Frenchman admitted: “My wife hated it [the suit] but I love it!”

The team principal, married to Spice Girl member Geri Halliwell who arrived in the paddock hand-in-hand with her husband ahead of the race on Saturday, was cleared of “inappropriate behaviour” on Wednesday after a three-week internal probe conducted by an external lawyer, following allegations from a female colleague which were strongly refuted by Horner.

Twenty-three days after allegations of “inappropriate behaviour” first emerged through whispers in the Dutch press, and following countless denials on the eve of the new Formula One season, Red Bull boss Christian Horner has finally won the battle of his life.

Touching down in the Middle East on Wednesday night, Horner will be one relieved man stepping off his private jet. A team principal and chief executive who has barely missed a race since taking the reins at the inception of his Red Bull team in 2005, the 50-year-old will take his usual place on the pit wall at the Bahrain Grand Prix this weekend as a man exonerated.

The statement on Wednesday afternoon from Red Bull GmbH – the parent company, based in Salzburg, of Horner’s Red Bull Racing – was unwavering. It spoke of an investigation, outsourced to an external KC, which was “fair, rigorous and impartial” and a “grievance” which has now been dismissed.

The team principal, married to Spice Girl member Geri Horner who arrived in Bahrain late on Thursday, was cleared of “inappropriate behaviour” on Wednesday after a three-week internal probe conducted by an external lawyer, following allegations from a female colleague which were strongly refuted by Horner.

However, just 24 hours later, WhatsApp texts and pictures were leaked from an anonymous source – to FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem, F1 chief executive Stefano Domenicali, the sport’s nine other team principals and members of the media – allegedly showing conversations between Horner and the complainant. The Independent has seen the leaked material, a Google Drive with 79 separate documents, but is unable to verify the authenticity of the content.

It is also unclear currently whether the alleged exchanges formed part of the investigation or whether it is new evidence. The embattled Red Bull boss was present in the F1 paddock in Bahrain on Friday, as his star driver Max Verstappen took pole position for the race on Saturday.

Horner, 50, met with Ben Sulayem and Domenicali on Friday at the Bahrain circuit. It remains to be seen how F1 and the sport’s governing body handle the matter in the next few days, after a saga which has overshadowed the first race of the 2024 season.

A statement from Red Bull confirmed Horner has been cleared of all charges ahead of the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix this weekend. Horner emphatically denied the claims.

But just 24 hours later, hundreds of messages and a number of images apparently between Horner and the complainant were sent from an anonymous email account to members of the F1 paddock – including FIA president Mohamed ben Sulayem, F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali and the grid’s nine other team principals, as well as the media – on the eve of this weekend’s season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix.

Bright and early, Christian Horner arrived at the paddock in Bahrain for the first race of this season this afternoon, starting at 3pm (GMT).

Notably, wife Geri Halliwell was not present with him. But reports indicate that the Spice Girl pop star was present on the grid in support of her husband this afternoon.