Geri and Christian Horner put on united front ahead of Bahrain GP

Max Verstappen said Horner had been 'distracted' amid the allegations of inappropriate behaviour being made against him

Spice Girls singer Geri Horner has appeared hand-in-hand with her embattled husband, Red Bull racing boss Christian Horner.

The couple put on a united front ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix as the Red Bull team principal faces allegations relating to the leak of hundreds of WhatsApp messages which appeared to be written by him to a female colleague.

The messages came 24 hours after Horner was cleared to continue as Red Bull head following an internal probe into “inappropriate behaviour” by the F1 team’s parent company, Red Bull GmbH.

Christian and Geri Horner holding hands before the Bahrain Grand Prix. Credit: PA

Max Verstappen said Horner has been "distracted" amid the allegations of inappropriate behaviour being made against him.

The 50-year-old has always denied the claims.

Geri arrived at the circuit holding her husband’s hand just under two hours before the race through the main paddock entrance.

The couple were all smiles as they sat together in Red Bull’s hospitality suite.

What are the accusations against Horner?

On February 5, Red Bull Racing’s parent company GmbH confirmed Horner was under investigation following an accusation of “inappropriate behaviour”.

The company said it “takes these matters extremely seriously and the investigation will be completed as soon as practically possible”.

Red Bull Racing team principle Christian Horner. Credit: PA

Horner denied the claim – made by a female colleague – and remained as team principal and CEO of the Milton Keynes-based team. It is understood the complainant also continued in her role.

What was the verdict?

On the eve of this weekend’s curtain raiser – and 23 days after it emerged Horner was under investigation – Red Bull GmBH said the grievance against the 50-year old had been dismissed.

The corporation said it was confident the investigation had been “fair, rigorous and impartial” but added that the report, understood to stretch to 150 pages, is “confidential”.

However, a number of senior figures in the sport felt Red Bull’s probe lacked transparency.

So, what happened next?

Twenty-four hours later, a number of messages and images apparently exchanged between Horner and the complainant were sent from an anonymous email account to 149 members of the F1 paddock – including FIA president Mohammed ben Sulayem, F1 chief executive Stefano Domenicali and the grid’s nine other team principals, as well as members of the media.

What did Horner say?

Horner released a statement saying: “I will not comment on anonymous speculation, but to reiterate I have always denied the allegations.”

He was back in the paddock a day later for qualifying as Max Verstappen took pole position. There was speculation that another damning email leak against Horner would arrive on Friday – but it failed to materialise.

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