- Christian Horner has been accused of “inappropriate behaviour” by a colleague
- The Red Bull boss, 50, has categorically denied the accusations made against him
- A new bomb report in the Netherlands has shed new light on the allegations
An explosive new report today claims Christian Horner has offered to pay a Red Bull employee who allegedly accused him of sexual misconduct in the form of sexting.
Geri Halliwell’s husband Horner – CEO and Team Principal of the Red Bull Formula 1 team – is the subject of an internal investigation into an allegation of ‘inappropriate behaviour’ made against him by a female employee, with the 50-year-old fighting to save him. work.
He is yet to respond to the new allegations but has previously denied all allegations and last week took his case to a KC who has been taken on as an internal investigator by the reigning world champions.
But in a new bombshell report from the Dutch newspaper De Telegraafthe “misconduct” charges related to Horner are reported to include allegedly engaging in “sexual misconduct,” according to the official.
The report claims the Red Bull boss – who is married to former Spice Girl Geri – sent “sexually suggestive messages” to the employee, with evidence in the form of WhatsApp messages. De Telegraaf they say they have seen the messages.
This goes far beyond the reported initial allegations, which suggested it had to do with Horner’s “controlling behaviour”.
Other teams and individuals in the F1 world are believed to be aware of these allegations, with KC overseeing the investigation also being made aware of the messages in question.
De Telegraaf claims that when Horner was informed of their intention to publish the allegations, his lawyers offered the female employee Β£650,000 in an attempt to keep her quiet.
Red Bull chiefs are said to be aware of the nature of the allegations against Horner, although he currently retains the support of Red Bull majority shareholder Chalerm Yoovidhya.
But the report also says many insiders, potentially including Horner, realize those at Red Bull headquarters – who say the case is being taken “extremely seriously” – would be open to his departure.
F1 owner Liberty Media and major American sponsors Red Bull are also closely monitoring the issue and how it is being handled.
Mail Sport has attempted to contact Horner’s representatives for comment. De Telegraph report that Horner “did not want to answer questions” about the latest allegations.
When asked about the previous allegations on Thursday at the unveiling of Red Bull’s new car for the 2024 season, the 50-year-old claimed he had not considered stepping down from his role and insisted he would still be in place for the season. start of the Bahrain Grand Prix on March 2.
‘No. It’s business as usual,” he said Sky Sports News. βObviously, I completely deny any allegations that have been made against me, but of course I will work through this process, which I hope will be completed in the near future.
“I cannot comment on what this process involves. I am obviously confident in the process and I am cooperating with the process and absolutely deny any allegations.
“I just keep working on this process until it’s done.”
Horner also denied reports of tension with three-time world champion Verstappen over the charges.
“Not at all (there is no friction),” added the Red Bull Director and CEO. ‘I was with Jos and Max at Silverstone a couple of days ago.
“Max is very focused on his work. He has been very supportive and I look forward to the upcoming season with him.
“There will always be speculation, but we are together as a team, that’s how we always have been and that’s how we continue to be.
βThe support from shareholders has been amazing and without that support we would not be here. So no, that’s not right.”