Christian Horner timeline: Meetings with lawyers, alleged leaked messages and a marriage ‘in question’… how Red Bull’s team principal and former Spice Girl wife Geri Halliwell became embroiled in F1 scandal
On Thursday evening, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner was cleared of any wrongdoing following initial allegations of ‘inappropriate behaviour’.
The 50-year-old’s future at the Formula 1 team is under scrutiny after he was accused last month of ‘coercive behaviour’ towards a close female associate of the Milton Keynes-based team.
Reports in the Netherlands claimed the allegations went even deeper, with Horner allegedly sending sexual messages to the woman in question.
And although Horner – the husband of former Spice Girl Geri Haillwell – was cleared of wrongdoing following an investigation into his conduct, the saga took another twist after 79 screenshots of text messages allegedly sent by the supremo just hours after the verdict appeared online.
Here, Mail Sport takes a look at the timeline of events in F1’s biggest scandal.
After weeks of investigation, Red Bull chief Christian Horner was acquitted on Wednesday afternoon of allegations of ‘coercive behavior’ against a female colleague
Horner – who is married to former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell – is fighting to save his career after a colleague accused him of ‘inappropriate behaviour’
February 5
The parent company of Red Bull Racing GmbH confirms that Horner is under investigation after an allegation of ‘inappropriate behaviour’.
The company says it ‘takes these matters very seriously and the investigation will be completed as quickly as practicable’.
February 9th
Horner is interrogated for eight hours by a lawyer responsible for the investigation at a secret location in London. There is no immediate solution.
On the same day, Red Bull GmbH released a statement saying: ‘After being made aware of certain recent allegations, the company initiated an independent investigation.
‘This process, which is already underway, is being carried out by an external specialist lawyer. The company takes these matters very seriously and the investigation will be completed as quickly as practicable.
“It would not be appropriate to comment further at this time.”
15 February
Horner will appear at Red Bull’s car launch – his first public appearance since news of the allegations emerged. He promises to step into his role as Red Bull team boss for the first race of the season and says: ‘For me it is business as normal.’
He said: ‘I’m going through a process and I fully respect it. For me it’s ‘business as normal’ and I’m concentrating on the coming season.
“Of course it’s a distraction for the team, but the team is very close.”
The allegations, which first emerged on February 5, have dominated F1 over the past month
Throughout the investigation, he had maintained his innocence and insisted he wasn’t going anywhere
February 18
F1 makes its first public comment on the matter, calling for Horner’s future to be ‘clarified at the earliest opportunity’.
In a statement they wrote: ‘We have noted that Red Bull has launched an independent investigation into internal allegations at Red Bull Racing.
‘We hope the matter will be resolved as soon as possible, following a fair and thorough process, and we will have no further comment at this time.’
February 20
Despite the ongoing investigation, Horner will fly to Bahrain for three days of testing ahead of the new season, while Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko praised the company’s handling of the situation.
‘The sooner a result is available, the better, because because of the long duration, rumors and other stories will naturally arise.
‘(But) I think Red Bull has responded very well in this matter. The length of this investigation is not their fault. They strive for a fair investigation and respond accordingly.’
Helmut Marko was quick to praise how Red Bull handled the team boss’ situation
Despite the ongoing investigation, Horner flew to Bahrain for testing ahead of the new season
February 21st
Horner takes his position on the Red Bull pit wall for the opening day of testing.
“I’m glad the process is over and I can’t comment on it,” he told Sky Sports. ‘I’m concentrating on the coming season. Within the team, unity (unity) has never been stronger.”
Meanwhile, rival Mercedes boss Toto Wolff demanded transparency into Red Bull’s investigation, saying the controversy is ‘a problem for the whole of Formula 1’.
“I just read the statement, which was quite simple,” Wolff said. ‘My personal opinion is that we can’t really see behind the scenes.
“There’s a lady in an organization who spoke to HR and said there was an issue and it was looked into and yesterday the sport got the message that it’s all fine, we’ve looked into it.
‘I believe that as we strive to be a global sport, on such crucial topics, there needs to be more transparency and I wonder what the position of the sport is?
February 22
Horner appears at a press conference together with four other F1 team leaders.
He declined to comment on the investigation, but said “everyone wants a conclusion as soon as possible.”
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff demanded more transparency about Red Bull’s investigation
February 23
Red Bull’s three-time world champion Max Verstappen says ‘it will be nice for everyone’ if the investigation into Horner is completed.
“When I talk about that, I mean that it is not the case that I can suddenly talk about things here,” said Verstappen.
‘So it’s better that I just concentrate on my own performance, because that’s already the daily task. But I think it will of course be nice for everyone if things are resolved. But that’s all I can say about that.
“Everyone who is here is all focused on the performance of the car, as it should be. Everyone knows their role and everyone is very focused on making the whole package faster.’
Meanwhile, Horner headed back to England after the test.
February 28
Red Bull GmbH announces that the ‘independent investigation into the allegations against Mr Horner has been completed and Red Bull can confirm that the complaint has been dismissed’, allowing Horner to remain in his position.
Former Spice girl Geri Halliwell – Horner’s wife – claims she is ‘relieved and elated’ that her husband has been cleared of inappropriate conduct.
Red Bull’s three-time world champion Max Verstappen weighed in on the situation, saying ‘it will be nice for everyone’ if Horner investigation is completed
Former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell claimed she was ‘relieved and elated’ that her husband was cleared of inappropriate conduct
February 29
Text messages and photos allegedly sent by Horner to a female employee have been leaked, just hours after the Red Bull boss broke his silence on the investigation.
The bombshell email contained 79 documents, including hundreds of messages, many of which were of a sexual nature.
The anonymous sender copied leading figures in the sport, such as FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem and F1 chief executive Stefano Domenicali, as well as accredited media gathered in Bahrain for the scandal-ridden opening race of the season.
March 1
Halliwell lands in Bahrain on a private jet to meet Christian Horner – after leaving before the ‘leaked text’ email.
Meanwhile, friends reveal to MailOnline that Halliwell and Horner’s marriage is ‘being questioned for the first time’.
Friends close to the Spice Girl, who staunchly supported her husband of nine years during the internal investigation, claim she is having “the meltdown to end all meltdowns over the leaks.”
Text messages and photos allegedly sent by Horner to a female employee have been leaked, just hours after the Red Bull boss broke his silence on the investigation.
Halliwell lands in Bahrain to meet Horner, after leaving before ‘leaked SMS’ email
Elsewhere, a source close to the female employee who accused Horner of inappropriate behavior claims she feels “very unhappy” about Red Bull’s decision to clear him of inappropriate behavior.
Speaking to MailOnline, the relative said: ‘My reaction to all this is that it is disgusting. In the words of Red Bull: Christian Horner has been acquitted, but I think a lot of people look at that answer and can’t quite fathom the truth behind it.
‘It is clear that it will not rest now because of these leaks. I was not aware of the reports before they were picked up by the media and I have no idea who is responsible for the leak.