Horner 'sent sexual messages to female employee and offered £650,000 to stop investigation'
F1 CHIEF Christian Horner last night faced new allegations that he tried to pay a £650,000 cash settlement to a female employee who received “sexually suggestive” text messages.
The 50-year-old Red Bull Racing boss – and husband of Spice Girl Geri Halliwell – is said to have been investigated for alleged 'controlling' behavior at work.
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But a Dutch newspaper, which claims to have seen messages at the heart of the investigation, claims they were “sexually oriented”.
And last night's shocking claims added to the grief of 51-year-old pop star Geri, who reportedly “burst into tears” when the scandal first broke.
Dashing former racing driver Horner – who leads world champion Max Verstappen's all-conquering Red Bull team – underwent an eight-hour grilling last week. He denies any wrongdoing.
Red Bull's Austrian parent company sent an independent lawyer to Britain to question both the multi-millionaire and his accuser.
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Team boss Horner denied all allegations against him and attended the launch of Red Bull's RB20 2024 car on Thursday.
Neither he nor the woman have been suspended and continue to work among the 1,500 staff at Red Bull Racing's sprawling high-tech campus in Milton Keynes, Bucks.
But Dutch newspaper The Telegraph reported that Horner allegedly sent sex messages to the female employee “over an extended period of time.”
Messages were allegedly saved and presented as evidence to the outside lawyer who led the investigation after the woman filed a complaint last December.
The Telegraph also claimed that Horner's lawyers tried to settle the case with a £650,000 payment – and that Red Bull's senior management were aware of his offer.
Horner publicly addressed the allegations against him for the first time at the launch of the RB20 this week.
He said: “Inevitably there have been distractions but the team is very cohesive.
“Everyone is focused on the season ahead so it was business as usual and the support was fantastic.
The life and career of Christian Horner
CHRISTIAN Horner is one of the best-known names in Formula 1 and has 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 kart racing
1993-1997 – Participates in numerous competitions including British Formula Three, British Formula Two and Formula 3000
1997 – Founded and developed the F3000 team Arden
1999 – Retires from driving and continues development of the Arden team
2005 – Appointed head of the Red Bull team, becoming the youngest team boss ever at the time
2009 – Wins his first races as team boss 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, leaving Lewis Hamilton behind in the final round of the season
2022-2023 – Red Bull wins the Drivers' Championship and the Constructors' Championship two years in a row
“In situations like this you see where the strengths lie, and the support I have had from the team has been overwhelming.
“The drivers were incredibly good, the partners were incredible.
“There have been some allegations made, which I completely deny, so the background investigation is ongoing as we prepare for the upcoming season and will hopefully be completed in the near future.”
F1 Insiders said after Horner was grilled last week that he was not expected to survive in his role at Red Bull.
But another source told The Sun: “Christian has not been fired, nor asked to resign, and he will not resign.”
Red Bull Racing declined to comment last night and the drinks company's Austrian parent company did not respond to questions about the Dutch newspaper's report.
It comes after it was reported that Geri has a strong group of friends she can turn to for support, including her ex-bandmate Victoria Beckham.
A close source said earlier this month: “Geri has been in tears all weekend looking after her children.
“She insists Christian did nothing wrong.”
Geri is reportedly leaning heavily on former bandmate Victoria, 49.
The two have been close since their Spice Girls days, a source says OK!: “They always got along well and have been there for each other through the tough times.
“When Geri had a stormy relationship with some of the other Spice Girls, Victoria supported her and helped her through it.
“It's the same now: Victoria wants to support Geri in any way she can.”
It helps that they live nearby – both have luxury family homes in the Cotswolds.
Geri was also a pillar of support for Victoria when her husband David was accused of having an affair in 2003.
She was also a shoulder to cry on when David was shown a red card during the 1998 World Cup, which the footballer called “the most difficult time” of his career.
The insider added: “Victoria and David have had some really low moments together as a couple and Geri has been there for her.
'She never forgot how good Geri was with… David's terrible treatment after the World Cup.
“Now she knows it's her time to be there for Geri, and she wants to care for her and help her.”
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ANALYSIS: Horner is challenging
By Ben Hunt, Motorsports Correspondent
CHRISTIAN HORNER faced music for the first time since the bomb fell twelve days ago.
And he looked like a man who hasn't slept a wink since.
Dressed in his usual jeans, white shirt covered with a sweater and a dark jacket, but unusually he wore glasses.
He sat on a plastic chair surrounded by journalists instructed not to pressure the 50-year-old about the internal investigation he is subject to.
But this is Horner's team, the team he has helped build since he first arrived here in Milton Keynes in 2005.
He would not be pigeonholed. To his great credit, he didn't bother with the carefully worded questions designed to elicit as much information as possible without getting into the red.
He answered everything he was confronted with and repeated four times that he denied all allegations made against him by a female colleague.
He spoke softly and calmly and even made a joke at the end of the media session asking what we thought of the new car – not a single question was asked about it.
The matter is out of his hands and being handled at the energy drink's headquarters in Austria, after they chose to launch their own private investigation.
Horner's message is clear: he has nothing to hide, this is his team and they launched their 2024 challenger at their headquarters in Milton Keynes to defend their titles.