Christian Horner is facing fresh turmoil today after new allegations were published in a bombshell 19-page investigation that names his accuser – as footage emerged of the scandal-hit F1 boss having a blazing row with his nemesis Jos Verstappen.
Geri Halliwell‘s husband was cleared last Wednesday of ‘coercive behaviour’ towards a female colleague at Red Bull before screenshots of texts allegedly exchanged between the pair were leaked via an anonymous email.
The 50-year-old was spotted hugging and kissing Halliwell at the Bahrain Grand Prix on Saturday in a show of unity.
However, Horner’s attempts to move on from the scandal have been hampered by the publication of a long investigation into the case by trade publication BusinessF1 Magazine.
The article makes a series of new allegations against Horner, names the female member of staff he is alleged to have texted and documents the power struggle at the top of Red Bull.
Sources close to Horner have dismissed the piece as ‘full of inaccuracies’, The Times reported, but it may be seized upon by his critics.
Foremost among these has been Red Bull star Max Verstappen’s father Jos, who has warned that the ongoing scandal was ‘driving the team apart’.
Footage has emerged of the pair having an animated exchange at the Bahrain Grand Prix on Friday.
The author of the BusinessF1 Magazine article is Tom Rubython, who has run the publication since 2003.
The 68-year-old was quoted as saying: ‘They’ve forgotten about us. They [Red Bull Racing] are so busy chasing mainstream media they forgot our magazine is coming out.
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‘Our magazine is usually about business, sponsorship and engines — a good old scandal is very rare.’
Mr Rubython also admitted that he did not put his claims to Red Bull before publication – known in journalism as a ‘right of reply’.
He said: ‘If I’d put the claims to Christian I’d have had an immediate injunction or attempted injunction… Harbottle [Horner’s lawyers] are going to have a problem if they go for us in the morning. Whether they will or not, I do have a certain reputation of not caving.’
Despite the controversy off-track, on the circuit Horner’s Red Bull team got the season off to a perfect start, with Max Verstappen winning the season-opener ahead of Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez.
However, Max’s father Jos has emerged as one of Horner’s most vocal critics, with the pair filmed having a heated conversation after qualifying on Friday night.
