Formula One team boss Christian Horner is facing accusations of sexual misconduct in the scandal rocking the world’s most glamorous sport.
The husband of former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell was accused earlier this month of ‘coercive behaviour’ towards a close female employee at the Milton Keynes-based Red Bull team, winners of the last three F1 championships.
But reports in Holland now claim that the accusations run deeper with an article in the De Telegraaf newspaper alleging he sent sexual messages to the woman in question.
Horner, 50, is currently subject to an internal investigation into accusations of ‘inappropriate behaviour’, an inquiry being conducted by an unnamed London KC.
The millionaire, who earns £8m a year, spent more than nine hours last week defending his position in a meeting with the barrister. He categorically denies all claims against him.
Christian Hornter was on Friday night facing accusations of sexual misconduct in the scandal rocking the world’s most glamorous sport.
Horner – who is married to former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell – is fighting to save his career after allegations of ‘inappropriate behaviour’ were made against him by a colleague
An article in the De Telegraaf newspaper said he sent sexual messages to the woman in question
Neither he nor Red Bull have responded to the latest accusations, which allege he sent ‘suggestive messages’ to the staff member, with evidence in the form of WhatsApp exchanges which De Telegraaf says it has seen.
This escalates the claims as originally reported.
Geri was ‘devastated’ by the original allegations but is said to be ‘sticking to him like glue’.
‘She will smile and do all she can to keep them together,’ said one insider.
It is also claimed by De Telegraaf that the woman has been offered a sizeable financial sum, which was last night denied by Horner’s lawyers.
Horner married Geri in 2015, having first met at the British Grand Prix a few years earlier. He left his partner Beverley, mother of their daughter Olivia, nine, to start up a new home, living in north London with Geri, with whom he has son, Monty, seven.
He drives in each day to the team’s Milton Keynes base, working long hours and is known as a fanatic ‘racer’, who enjoyed success as a junior driver before knowing he was no longer good enough at that and turned his hand to running teams rather than driving for them.
He ran the successful Arden team in the junior category, Formula 3000, and was supported by Bernie Eccelstone, motor racing’s then ruler, to take over Red Bull when they came into F1 in 2005, aged 31.
He was the youngest team boss then. Now he is its longest-serving team principal. Ecclestone was best man at Horner’s wedding to Geri in 2015, and the pair swapped roles when Ecclestone married Fabian Flosi, a Brazilian lawyer more than 40 years his senior.
Speaking at the launch of Red Bull’s car for the new season, Horner said he was going nowhere
Under Horner’s leadership, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen has won three successive world titles
Horner enjoys the fame that his life with Geri has brought him, as well as his exposure on Netflix’s Drive to Survive series. He celebrated his 50th birthday party in Mayfair, with Sir Rod Stewart, Ronnie Wood and Gary Barlow. They serenaded him with ‘Happy Birthday’ choruses, Horner cut the cake with ‘World Champion’ displayed on it.
‘I thought we were forming a band,’ said Horner, who attended Red Bull’s car launch a their factory this week, claiming it was a case of ‘business as normal’.
In December, Horner was promoted to Commander of the Order of the British Empire to honour his success in overseeing two periods of success at the team, the second of which ended Mercedes’ long period of Lewis Hamilton-inspired dominance.
He has won 13 world championships in the 19 years he has led the team, and made himself a household name in sport and beyond.
