Geri Halliwell has reportedly demanded that her husband, Christian Horner, sever all ties with the female colleague he allegedly sent racy messages to, according to sources. The former Spice Girl Despite who has so far supported her troubled partner has reportedly laid down "rigorous guidelines" for the Red Bull boss after he was cleared of inappropriate behavior.
Halliwell, 51, is said to have confronted her husband, "reading him the riot act," before presenting a united front with him in front of the cameras at the Bahrain Grand Prix on Saturday. This display of unity included a public kiss before Max Verstappen claimed victory for Red Bull at the Bahrain event.
Halliwell's Ultimatum
Although Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez came up with an outstanding performance with a remarkable one-two finish in Bahrain, attention remains on Christian Horner.
The Red Bull team boss, 50, is now facing renewed calls to resign as bombshell text messages, allegedly of a flirtatious nature between him and the female complainant, were leaked to 149 figures in the F1 community, less than 24 hours after an internal investigation cleared him to continue in his role.
While Ginger Spice showed solidarity with her husband over the weekend, insiders suggest that the pop star wants the female employee "out of the picture."
"Although she smiled for the cameras at the Grand Prix, Geri has laid down some strict ground rules," a source told The Sun.
"One is that Christian cuts or reduces contact with the woman — but that is difficult because of her role at Red Bull.
"And she has definitely had her say over what messages he sends. For obvious reasons, Geri would like the female colleague — who she knew before her appointment — to be out of the picture as much as possible," the source added.
The source also said that Red Bull cannot fire the woman due to the lack of grounds for such action.
According to an F1 insider, Halliwell, who has a seven-year-old son, Monty, with Horner, has time and again shown unwavering support to her husband. However, it's unlikely that she will be present at the upcoming Saudi Arabia Grand Prix because of her busy schedule.
Horner Wants to Continue His Job
Horner is under pressure to resign from his post, and accusations have been made by Jos Verstappen, Max Verstappen's father, claiming that Horner is "driving the team apart."
Verstappen Snr, who manages his world champion son Max, told Daily Mail, "There is tension here while he remains in position. The team is in danger of being torn apart. It can't go on the way it is. It will explode. He is playing the victim, when he is the one causing the problems."
However, a spokesman for Red Bull said: "There are no issues here. The team are united and we are focused on racing."
Christian Horner has confidently said that he "absolutely" expects to retain his position as the head of Red Bull for the upcoming Grand Prix next week.
Horner told Sky Sports he "wouldn't be here otherwise" if he thought he was about to lose control of the F1 team.
"We have got tremendous support, tremendous partners and great shareholders behind us as well," he added
"You don't achieve this kind of result by not being united."
Before the race, Christian Horner and his wife, to whom he has been married since 2015, were seen publicly displaying unity.
Horner secretly left Red Bull's hospitality suite through a gate to meet her at the paddock's main entrance. The couple then walked hand in hand through the paddock to Red Bull's hospitality suite, drawing attention from photographers and TV crews during the brief stroll.
Later, at lunch, they were joined by Red Bull's head of communication and former F1 team principal Flavio Briatore, as well as Red Bull's majority shareholder and Horner's ally, Thai billionaire Chalerm Yoovidhya.
Insiders told The Sun that the former Spice Girls singer is "furious" with her husband, although she has not taken extreme measures in response to the situation.
According to friends of Halliwell who spoke to the publication earlier, she had reportedly "read him the riot act" regarding the situation.
Horner, vehemently denying the claims, had previously said, "I have the support of an incredible family, an incredible wife, an incredible team, and everybody within that team."
