He was cleared after accusations of “inappropriate sexual behavior” by a colleague, as revealed in early February by the Dutch daily
De Telegraaf
.
Christian Horner (50 years old), boss of the Red Bull team since 2005, was suspected of having made inappropriate gestures towards a colleague - whose identity has not been revealed - thus explained the media, without giving more details. details.
In the process, Red Bull launched an internal investigation, while its boss denied the facts.
Three weeks later, on February 28 and on the eve of the start of the 2024 Formula 1 season, his team announced in an official press release that it had completely cleared him.
It was also specified that the complaint had been dismissed after a “fair, rigorous and impartial investigation”.
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However, this Saturday, March 2, the tide once again seems to have turned.
On this first race weekend of the Bahrain Grand Prix, which is being held at the Sakhir international circuit, nearly 200 people - team bosses, F1 managers and journalists - received the same email, anonymous and most compromising.
As revealed by several media outlets, the inside of the message contained a Google Drive link leading to supposed material elements that could relaunch the complaint against the husband of the ex-Spice Girl, Geri Halliwell.
The file would indeed include screenshots of WhatsApp conversations as well as intimate photos (their authenticity still remains to be verified).
Spam messages and requests for
“nudes”
However, as reported in particular by
The Sun
,
we already know more or less what would appear in this new evidence.
The tabloid thus reports that the exchanges between Christian Horner and his colleague, made up of numerous sexts, would clearly demonstrate acts of harassment.
The latter would thus have “harassed his colleague to have naked photos of her, engaging in a secret conversation behind his wife’s back”, we can read.
Some messages also reveal that the accused engaged in an act of masturbation in an airplane toilet.
Still according to
The Sun
, the complainant would have been tired of the unwanted calls and messages from her boss, telling him to stop.
She even asked him how he would feel if his wife, Geri Halliwell, did the same thing to one of his employees.
Faced with the controversy, which arose less than twenty-four hours after he was cleared, Christian Horner wanted to react to these new accusations: “I will not comment on anonymous speculation, but I repeat, I have always denied these allegations, he expressed in a statement read to journalists by a spokesperson for the team, reports BFM TV.
“I respected the integrity of the independent investigation and cooperated fully every step of the way,” he added.
For her part, Geri Halliwell, who was initially “relieved and delighted” to see her husband cleared of all suspicion, did not respond to this new development.
The latter was content to hold his hand in the paddock, this Saturday March 2, before the launch of the F1 Grand Prix.