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On Thursday night, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner was cleared of any wrongdoing following initial allegations of “inappropriate behavior.”
The 50-year-old’s future with the Formula One team has come under scrutiny after he was accused of “coercive behaviour” towards a close employee of the Milton Keynes-based team last month.
Reports in the Netherlands claimed that the allegations go even deeper and that Horner allegedly sent sexual messages to the woman in question.
And although Horner, the husband of former Spice Girl Geri Haillwell, was cleared of any wrongdoing following an investigation into his conduct, the saga took another turn after 79 screenshots of text messages allegedly sent by the supreme appeared online a few hours after the verdict.
Here, Mail Sport takes a look at the timeline of events in F1’s biggest scandal.
After weeks of investigations, Red Bull boss Christian Horner was cleared on Wednesday afternoon of allegations of “coercive behaviour” towards a female colleague.
Horner, who is married to former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell, is fighting to save his career after a colleague accused him of “inappropriate behaviour”.
February 5th
Red Bull Racing’s parent company GmbH confirms that Horner is under investigation following an allegation of “inappropriate behaviour”.
The company says it “takes these matters very seriously and the investigation will be completed as soon as possible.”
February 9
Horner is questioned by a lawyer in charge of the investigation for eight hours at a secret location in London. There is no immediate resolution.
On the same day, Red Bull GmbH issued a statement saying: “After being informed of certain recent allegations, the company launched an independent investigation.
‘This process, which is already underway, is carried out by an external specialist lawyer. The company takes these matters very seriously and the investigation will be completed as soon as possible.
“It would not be appropriate to comment further at this time.”
February 15
Horner appears at the launch of the Red Bull car, his first public appearance since news of the allegations emerged. He promises to play his part as Red Bull team manager during the first race of the season and says: “For me, everything is normal.”
He said: ‘I’m going through a process and I fully respect that.’ For me, everything is normal and I am focused on the next season.
“Of course, it’s a distraction for the team, but the team is very united.”
The allegations, which first emerged on February 5, have dominated F1 for the past month.
Throughout the investigation, he maintained his innocence and insisted he was not going anywhere.
18th of February
F1 makes its first public comment on the matter, calling for Horner’s future to be “clarified as soon as possible.”
In a statement, they wrote: “We have noted that Red Bull has launched an independent investigation into internal allegations at Red Bull Racing.
“We hope that the matter will be clarified as soon as possible, after a fair and thorough process, and will not be commenting further at this time.”
February 20th
Despite the ongoing investigation, Horner flies to Bahrain for three days of testing ahead of the new season, while Red Bull adviser Helmut Marko praised the company’s handling of the situation.
‘The sooner the result is available, the better because of course rumors and other stories are likely to arise due to the long duration.
‘(But) I think Red Bull has reacted very well in this matter. The long duration of this investigation is not your fault. “They are striving to conduct a fair investigation and then react accordingly.”
Helmut Marko was quick to praise how Red Bull handled the team principal situation.
Despite the ongoing investigation, Horner flew to Bahrain for testing ahead of the new season.
February 21st
Horner takes his position on the Red Bull pit wall for the opening day of the test.
“I’m glad the process is over and I can’t comment on it,” he told Sky Sports. ‘I’m focused on next season. Within the team (the unit) has never been stronger.”
Meanwhile, rival Mercedes boss Toto Wolff demanded transparency in the Red Bull investigation and said the controversy is “a problem for all of Formula One.”
“I just read the statement, which was pretty basic,” Wolff said. ‘My personal opinion is that we can’t really look behind the curtain.
“There is a lady in an organization who spoke to HR and said there was a problem and it was investigated and yesterday the sport received the message that everything is fine, we looked at it.”
‘I think that with the aspiration of being a global sport, on such critical issues, more transparency is needed and I wonder what the position of the sport is.
February 22
Horner appears at a press conference alongside four other F1 team principals.
He declines to comment on the investigation, but says “we would all like to have a conclusion as soon as possible.”
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff demanded greater transparency in the Red Bull investigation
23 of February
Red Bull triple world champion Max Verstappen says it will “be good for everyone” when the Horner investigation concludes.
“I mean, in terms of talking about it, it’s not like I suddenly sit here and can talk about things,” Verstappen said.
“So I better focus on my own performance because that is already my daily job. But I guess, of course, for everyone, it’s nice, of course, when things are resolved. But that’s the only thing I can say about it.
“Everyone here is focusing on the performance of the car, as they should. “Everyone knows their role and everyone is very focused on trying to make the whole package faster.”
Meanwhile, Horner returned to England after the test was over.
February 28
Red Bull GmbH announces that “the independent investigation into the allegations made against Mr Horner is complete and Red Bull can confirm that the complaint has been dismissed”, authorizing Horner to remain in his position.
Former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell, Horner’s wife, says she is “relieved and elated” that her husband has been cleared of inappropriate conduct.
Red Bull’s triple world champion Max Verstappen weighed in on the situation, saying “it will be good for everyone” when the investigation into Horner concludes.
Former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell said she was “relieved and elated” that her husband was cleared of inappropriate conduct.
February 29
Text messages and photographs allegedly sent by Horner to an employee are leaked, just hours after the Red Bull boss broke his silence on the investigation.
The explosive email contained 79 documents, including hundreds of messages, many of them sexual in nature.
The anonymous sender copied prominent figures in the sport, including FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem and F1 chief executive Stefano Domenicali, as well as accredited media gathered in Bahrain for the opening race of the season plagued by scandals.
March 1
Halliwell lands in Bahrain on a private jet to meet Christian Horner, having taken off before the “leaked texts” email.
Meanwhile, friends reveal to MailOnline that Halliwell and Horner’s marriage is “in doubt for the first time”.
Friends close to the Spice Girl, who steadfastly supported her husband of nine years throughout the internal investigation, say she is “having the crisis necessary to end all crises over the leaks.”
Text messages and photographs allegedly sent by Horner to an employee are leaked, just hours after the Red Bull boss broke his silence on the investigation.
Halliwell lands in Bahrain to meet Horner, having taken off ahead of ‘leaked texts’ email
Separately, a source close to the employee who accused Horner of inappropriate behavior says she feels “very unhappy” about Red Bull’s decision to clear him of inappropriate behavior.
Speaking to MailOnline, the relative said: ‘My reaction to all this is that it is disgusting. In Red Bull’s words, Christian Horner has been cleared, but I think a lot of people look at that answer and can’t understand the truth behind it.
‘Obviously we are not going to rest now because of these leaks. I was not aware of the messages before the media picked them up and I have no idea who is responsible for the leak.
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