By Jonathan McEvoy and Kieran Lynch For Mailonline
15:10 14 Feb 2024, updated 15:49 14 Feb 2024
- Horner has been accused of ‘inappropriate behaviour’ by a female employee
- He attended a filming day on Tuesday and will be in attendance for the launch
- The Red Bull team principal denies accusations that he acted coercively
Christian Horner will attend Red Bull’s car launch in Milton Keynes on Thursday morning.
He will face questions from media over his future as boss of the world championship-winning team, amid allegations of his behaviour to an employee, but there are likely to be limits on what he will say for legal reasons.
Horner will not be drawn on the issue and denies accusations he acted coercively to a woman member of staff.
The 50-year-old met a King’s Counsel last Friday to outline his rebuttal of the claims that have electrified Formula One.
Red Bull had wanted the issue dealt with ahead of the unveiling of Max Verstappen’s new car, an event that the triple world champion will attend.
But the legal to-and-fro seems not to have marched to that beat, and will drag on towards or beyond pre-season testing in Bahrain next week or to the first race at the same venue on March 2.
Horner’s allies claims he is part of a power struggle within the organisation.
His appearance at the factory in the Midlands will be the first time he has spoken publicly about the ordeal since news broke a week ago on Monday.
His Spice Girl wife, Geri, is standing resolutely by her husband.
That is despite reports that she is terrified over how ‘things will unravel’ amid the probe into her husband.
Horner was in attendance at a secret filming day at the Silverstone race track on Tuesday, as the new Red Bull car soared around the track for the first time this season.
A picture posted on social media showed Horner laughing with colleagues at the secret test.
Meanwhile a source has told Closer: ‘Obviously this has been a hellish time for Geri and she’s been in a state of absolute turmoil – trying to hold it together for the kids while quietly crumbling inside.’
They added: ‘She says she feels like she’s in a living nightmare and is absolutely terrified about how things could unravel.’
The source claimed that Geri ultimately wants to support her husband in any way she can and is determined this won’t break their family apart, despite feeling ‘anxious’ about the drama.
Horner and Halliwell were married in May 2015, with former F1 supremo Ecclestone the best man for the Red Bull team principal.
Reports had suggested that Ecclestone had urged Horner to resign to avoid damage to wife Geri and his family, with the former Spice Girl said to ‘devastated’ by the allegations made against her husband.
The 93-year-old though denied this in a post on Instagram on Wednesday.
She gave birth to a son in January 2017, while both had daughters from previous relationships.
The uncertainty over Horner’s future could drag on for some time, with Dutch publication De Telegraaf reporting that a final verdict into his behaviour may not be published for weeks.
A spokesperson for Red Bull GmbH said on Monday: ‘After being made aware of certain recent allegations, the company launched an independent investigation.’
They added: ‘The company takes these matters extremely seriously.’
In response to the allegations, Horner said: ‘I completely deny the claims.’
Red Bull earlier said: ‘Having being made aware of certain recent allegations, the company launched an independent investigation. This process is being carried out by an external specialist barrister.
‘The investigation will be completed as soon as practically possible. It would not be appropriate to comment further at this time.’
Red Bull are the top team in Formula One as things stand, with Verstappen winning the last three drivers’ titles, while the team have also won back-to-back constructors’ championships.
Last season was the most dominant in the sport’s history with Red Bull winning 21 out of a possible 22 races.
Verstappen and Perez tested their new cars under grey skies on Tuesday, with all teams permitted to have two filming days.
Horner has held the role as team principal since Red Bull joined Formula One as its own team in 2005.
Olivia Martin is a dedicated sports journalist based in the UK. With a passion for various athletic disciplines, she covers everything from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis.
