Geri Halliwell has been pictured for the first time in Bahrain after flying from the UK to be at her husband Christian Horner’s side, amid the Red Bull boss’ ongoing texting scandal.
Red Bull confirmed on Saturday that Halliwell will be on the grid during the Bahrain Grand Prix in a show of solidarity with Horner after a tranche of WhatsApp messages and photographs he allegedly sent to an employee were leaked.
Horner, who appeared lonely leaving the Bahrain International Circuit on Saturday morning, was cleared of “coercive behavior towards a female colleague” by Red Bull ahead of the start of the 2024 season. Red Bull launched an internal investigation into the allegations on the 5th. of February.
Flirty messages allegedly exchanged between Horner and the complainant were leaked to 149 F1 figures while Halliwell was on the flight to see her husband ahead of this weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix.
Halliwell, who married the Red Bull team principal in 2015, was thrown into crisis when she landed in the Gulf state on a private jet on Thursday and discovered the explosive messages had appeared all over social media.
The former Spice Girl arrived hand in hand with the Red Bull team boss ahead of the Grand Prix
Geri Halliwell (left) will be on the grid during the Bahrain Grand Prix after traveling from the UK to hold “crisis talks” with her husband Christian Horner (right).
Under fire, Red Bull boss Horner arrived at the Bahrain International Circuit for the opening race of the 2024 season, cutting an isolated figure when he appeared alone.
Throughout the investigation and since the messages were leaked, Horner has denied any wrongdoing and was present when the team began the defense of its three consecutive world titles in qualifying on Friday, with Max Verstappen sealing pole position.
The world champion was 0.228 seconds faster than Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in second, while Mercedes’ George Russell came third and team-mate Lewis Hamilton had to settle for ninth.
Both Red Bull and Ferrari shared the lead throughout the three rounds of qualifying, with Red Bull overtaking the Italian team right at the end of Q3, with Leclerc in second and George Russell finishing strongly to finish third, 0.306 seconds behind. by Verstappen.
The Dutchman insisted on Saturday morning that he and the rest of the Red Bull team were “fully focused” on the Bahrain Grand Prix and said the controversy surrounding the team boss “is none of our business.”
Before her flight to the Gulf Kingdom, Halliwell’s friends say they are “deeply concerned” about her and that she appeared “fragile.” A friend claimed her texting scandal had put her marriage “in doubt for the first time”.
But Halliwell’s confirmed presence at the Bahrain Grand Prix signals a public show of solidarity with Horner, who has consistently insisted his focus is on racing and making Red Bull’s world title defense a success. perfect start.
Mail Sport reported on Friday that Halliwell plans to be alongside Horner on the pre-race grid, alongside his main ally on the Red Bull board, Thai billionaire Chalerm Yoovidhya, who owns 51 percent of the racing company. energy drinks.
A source told Mail Sport before the GP: ‘She (Halliwell) took off before the email arrived. I don’t know if she will be in the race, but it will be chaos if she does.
‘It would be crazy. I might even be flying home.
Horner’s future in the organization still remains under threat, despite Red Bull clearing him of wrongdoing earlier this week.
Red Bull launched the investigation into Horner, pictured alongside Halliwell in Monaco, on February 5.
Horner took up his position in the Red Bull paddock as usual on Friday, as Max Verstappen (left) secured pole for Saturday’s race, but also left the pit wall for talks with the FIA.
Horner and Halliwell in a holiday photograph taken on an unidentified beach during Christmas
The former Spice Girl looks happy and relaxed on the Silverstone grid in July 2023
FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem, the sport’s chief executive Stefano Domenicali and F1 team principals including Mercedes’ Toto Wolff and McLaren’s Zak Brown, as well as journalists, were among the recipients of the email that It contained 79 screenshots of messages and photographs allegedly sent by Horner. .
Ben Sulayem admitted that the controversy surrounding the Red Bull team principal is “harming the sport”.
The FIA ​​and F1 owners Liberty Media were weighing up their response to the evidence now in the public domain.
It is not known for certain whether the messages were submitted to the investigation led by Red Bull, but it is believed that they probably were.
Now, however, Horner is open to a public trial, while the most intense pressure on his role may come from the team’s sponsors potentially withdrawing their support.
Horner, who left the pit wall on Friday for crucial talks with the FIA, urged that he would not comment on “anonymous speculation” and stressed that he has “always denied the allegations.”
On the day of the leaked WhatsApp messages, the directors of Horner’s rival team joined the storm and asked the FIA ​​and Formula One to examine Red Bull’s decision.
“I just read the statement (relating to Wednesday’s decision, after a process Red Bull GmbH described as ‘fair, rigorous and impartial’), it was quite basic,” said Mercedes boss Toto Wolff.
‘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 told her there was a problem. She investigated herself and yesterday the sport received the message that everything is fine, we have analyzed it.
“I think that with the aspiration of being a global sport, on such critical issues, more transparency is needed and I wonder where the sport stands.”
McLaren CEO Zak Brown added: “Ultimately it is the responsibility of the Formula One organisers, the owners of Formula One, to ensure that all racing teams, their staff, the drivers and everyone else involved in sport are operating in a way that we all live in.’