Sign of support?

Geri Halliwell flies to Bahrain to see her husband

Geri Halliwell with her husband Christian Horner - here in December 2023 at the premiere of the film "Ferrari" in London. Today, their marriage is probably facing a crucial test.

(Bild: APA/AFP/HENRY NICHOLLS)

Geri Halliwell is apparently still standing by her husband Christian Horner. The Daily Mail claims to have learned that she jetted to Bahrain for the upcoming Formula 1 Grand Prix via private plane. However, she is said to have only found out about the recently surfaced chats, allegedly written by her husband, on the plane.

The theory of the "Daily Mail" and other British sports media: Halliwell probably took off yesterday, Thursday, in order to be in Bahrain in time for the race on Saturday. At that time, everything still seemed to be reasonably in order: Red Bull had announced that the investigations against team boss Horner had been dropped, meaning that he could remain in office. Good conditions for Halliwell to set an example - and to support her husband on the Grand Prix weekend.

Theoretically. Because just as she was on the plane, the next act in the drama surrounding the Red Bull manager followed. An anonymous sender sent out an email to a number of Formula 1 stakeholders, which in turn contained countless WhatsApp chats between Horner and the employee who had originally made accusations against her boss. Some of them are unsavory. Are the chats real? God only knows.

Complaint rejected
Red Bull announced in a statement on Wednesday that an employee's complaint against Horner had been dismissed following an independent investigation. Horner, who has been married to former Spice Girls singer Geri Halliwell since 2015, denied all allegations against him and continued to lead the team during the process. Red Bull declared that the investigation report would remain confidential. It remained so for the time being. Until the leak of the email with the alleged allegations (regarding the alleged harassment) on Thursday.

Christian Horner is under pressure.

(Bild: Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Meeting of the bosses
FIA President Mohammed bin Sulayem and FOM (Formula One Group) boss Stefano Domenicali also held a meeting in Bahrain the day before the Grand Prix, during the third practice session. The topic: the next steps in the Horner case. He was probably there too - at least he was spotted on the way to the bosses. He was only seen at the command post at the beginning of the training session. Then he probably went to the meeting.

Christian Horner at the command post during the third practice session in Bahrain - he was not present at the command post for the entire session.

(Bild: APA/AFP/ANDREJ ISAKOVIC)

Horner with FIA President Mohammed bin Sulayem

(Bild: APA/AFP/ANDREJ ISAKOVIC)

Horner taciturn
The only statement available from Horner himself so far came from a spokesman. "I will not comment on anonymous speculation, but to reiterate: I have always denied the allegations," it reads.

Questions upon questions in the case: Who sent the emails? And who would have benefited from them? Who had access to the recipients, who included, for example, only media representatives with seasonal accreditation? The extent to which all of this will now be the subject of possible further investigations and inquiries remains to be seen. In any case, Horner's lawyers sent out an email the same evening and pointed out, among other things, that Horner had denied all the allegations.