Geri and Christian Horner put on united front ahead of Bahrain Grand Prix
The Spice Girl’s husband faces allegations relating to the leak of hundreds of WhatsApp messages which appeared to be written by him to a colleague.
Geri Horner shared a kiss with embattled husband Christian Horner as they put on a united front at Formula One’s Bahrain Grand Prix.
The Spice Girls singer was hand-in-hand with the Red Bull team principal who faces allegations relating to the leak of hundreds of WhatsApp messages which appeared to be written by him to a female colleague.
The messages came on Thursday, 24 hours after Horner was cleared to continue as Red Bull head following an internal probe into “inappropriate behaviour” by the F1 team’s parent company, Red Bull GmbH. The 50-year-old has always denied the claims.
Horner slipped out the back of Red Bull’s hospitality suite through a gate to meet Geri as she arrived at the main entrance of the paddock – about an hour and 45 minutes before the race.
They then held hands as they walked through the paddock to Red Bull’s hospitality suite. During the short walk they were mobbed by photographers and TV crews.
The couple were all smiles at lunch where they were later joined by Red Bull’s head of communication and former F1 team principal Flavio Briatore and Red Bull’s majority shareholder, and Horner ally, Thai billionaire Chalerm Yoovidhya.
Horner headed for the race grid about 45 minutes before the 3pm start, giving Geri a kiss as he left.
Driver Max Verstappen delivered for Horner’s crisis-hit Red Bull team by winning the opening race of the Formula One season in Bahrain on Saturday.
Verstappen led a Red Bull one-two, with Sergio Perez second.
Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz took the chequered flag in third, one place ahead of team-mate Charles Leclerc with George Russell and Lewis Hamilton a disappointing fifth and seventh respectively for Mercedes. McLaren’s Lando Norris finished sixth.
Geri has been married to Horner since 2015.
The 51-year-old singer has a son, Montague George Hector Horner, with Horner.
She also has a daughter, Bluebell Madonna, born in 2006, with former partner and screenwriter Sacha Gervasi.
The WhatsApp messages were sent from an anonymous email account to 149 members of the F1 paddock – including the president of the sport’s governing body Mohammed ben Sulayem, F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali and the grid’s nine other team principals, as well as members of the media.
Horner continues to operate in his role as team principal and CEO, although it is understood there is considerable unease among the team’s plethora of sponsors and partners.
He spoke only once about the latest allegations as he made his way from Red Bull’s hospitality suite to the team’s garage on Friday.
“I am not going to comment on anonymous speculation from unknown sources,” he said. When asked what comes next, Horner replied: “We go racing.”
