Text messages and photos exchanged between Red Bull Racing principal Christian Horner and a female employee were reportedly leaked hours after he was cleared in a workplace misconduct investigation. The bombshell email included 79 documents, comprising numerous messages, a significant portion of which were of a sexual nature.
The intimate and sexual WhatsApp exchanges with the female colleague were reportedly sent to Formula One's most influential figures. The 50-year-old Horner, married to former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell, faced allegations of "coercive behavior" toward a female subordinate earlier this month. However, he was cleared of the accusations following an investigation by Red Bull's parent company but is in troubled waters again.
In Troubled Waters Again
Just a day after Horner was exonerated, an anonymous email sent 79 screenshots to various leaders within and around Formula 1. These screenshots contained numerous WhatsApp messages and photos exchanged between Horner and a female employee.
The unidentified sender included prominent figures in the sport, including FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem and F1 chief executive Stefano Domenicali, as well as accredited media assembled in Bahrain for the controversial inaugural race of the season, the Daily Mail reported.
The collection of seemingly damning material surfaced as the second practice started at 6 pm, around 24 hours after Horner was cleared from 'coercive behavior' allegations by his team's parent company, Red Bull GmbH, based in Salzburg.
He was delighted by the verdict, believing it marked the end of a crisis that had enveloped him and his wife, Spice Girl Geri Halliwell. However, this relief was short-lived as the WhatsApp exchanges were subsequently made public.
According to the Associated Press, nearly 200 people were included in the email distribution.
"I won't comment on anonymous speculation, but to reiterate, I have always denied the allegations," Horner said in a statement that a Red Bull team spokesperson read to reporters.
"I respected the integrity of the independent investigation and fully cooperated with it every step of the way," Horner's statement continued.
"It was a thorough and fair investigation conducted by an independent specialist barrister and it has concluded, dismissing the complaint made. I remain fully focused on the start of the season."
Lack of Clarity
In a separate statement, Red Bull confirmed that Horner had been cleared through an "independent investigation," and noted that the complainant retained the right to appeal. Before the email leak, Zak Brown, the principal of the rival McLaren team, urged Formula 1 and the FIA to scrutinize Red Bull's investigation.
"From what I've seen, there continues to be a lot of rumors and speculation, questions," Brown said.
"I think the sanctioning body has a responsibility and authority to our sport, to our fans. All of us in Formula 1 are ambassadors for the sport on and off the track, like you see in other sports. And so I think they need to make sure that things have been fully transparent with them."
Last month, The Sun disclosed that Halliwell, Horner's wife, was deeply emotional about the allegations.
"Geri has been in floods of tears all weekend while looking after her kids," a Halliwell confidante told the outlet.
"She is insisting Christian has done nothing wrong."
On Thursday, Horner changed his WhatsApp avatar, no longer featuring the image from the alleged exchanges with the woman in question.
The FIA and F1's owners, Liberty Media, were weighing up their response to the now-publicly available evidence.
It isn't clear if the messages were presented to the Red Bull-led investigation is uncertain, but there is a belief that they were likely presented.
