Grand Prix 2024: Will Geri Halliwell be by F1 husband Christian Horner’s side in Melbourne?
All eyes will be on Red Bull boss Christian Horner, husband of Geri Halliwell, when the F1 GP gets underway in Melbourne.
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It has all the ingredients of a trashy bestseller – and it could be about to explode in Melbourne.
The Australian Grand Prix will have a touch of scandal and intrigue this year as Christian Horner arrives with his Red Bull Formula One team, and possibly his wife, pop royalty Geri Halliwell.
The Formula One world has been gripped in recent weeks by the drama surrounding Horner, who was accused by a former staff member of acting inappropriately towards her.
The allegations against the 50-year-old, long-serving principal of F1’s dominant racing outfit first emerged last month.
They were denied by Horner, swiftly investigated by Red Bull and dismissed.
Then, in a bombshell that rocked the Red Bull team and continues to do so, a trove of WhatsApp messages allegedly written by him were leaked and sent to media and Formula One figures.
Geri Horner – who was better known as Geri Halliwell aka Ginger Spice in British 90s band The Spice Girls, but now goes by her married name – was standing by her husband at recent Grand Prix meets.
But will she follow him to Melbourne? The 51-year-old has appeared at both the Bahrain and Saudi Arabia Grand Prix events, but her husband is now under even more pressure as tension erupts within the Red Bull camp and shareholders get jittery.
The allegations first came to light on February 5, in a statement issued by Red Bull GmbH -the racing team’s parent company – confirming Horner was under investigation and that it takes “these matters extremely seriously”.
Adamant he had done nothing wrong, Horner carried on with his duties, saying “for me, it is business as normal and I’m focused on the season ahead”.
But there was no denying the strain the claims were having.
“Of course, it is a distraction for the team, but the team are very together,” he said.
Elsewhere in F1 pit lanes, rivals began to ask questions about what exactly Horner was accused of doing.
Then, on February 28, a little more than three weeks after the bombshell news broke, Red Bull exonerated Horner however noted the complainant had a right to apply.
In a statement, the company tried to close the affair down once and for all as the clock ticked down to the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix the following day.
“The investigation report is confidential and contains the private information of the parties and third parties who assisted in the investigation, and therefore we will not be commenting further out of respect for all concerned,” the statement read.
“Red Bull will continue striving to meet the highest workplace standards.”
Within hours there would be a further twist.
As Horner oversaw the race, which was won by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, he and wife Geri were filmed hugging and kissing for the cameras.
But as they basked in the celebrations at Bahrain, the inboxes of F1 journalists, and prominent F1 officials began to fill with texts and pictures that had allegedly been sent between Horner and his accuser.
Horner said he wouldn’t address “anonymous speculation from unknown sources” and tried to move past the controversy – but tension was building within the Red Bull camp.
Verstappen’s father and former top F1 driver Jos Verstappen claimed the team would be “torn apart”.
“It can’t go on the way it is. It will explode. He (Horner) is playing the victim, when he is the one causing the problems,” Verstappen senior said.
A Formula One magazine escalated the headache by publishing the female employee’s name, generating so much interest its website crashed.
Horner’s lawyers reportedly sent legal letters to BusinessF1 Magazine accusing it of “publishing an unlawful article that was defamatory but also preached privacy and data protection rights”.
But its editor refused to take down the piece.
Days later, Red Bull gave all media another headline to run with after suspending Horner’s accuser for what it said was an “internal matter”.
As he counted down to the next Grand Prix in Saudi Arabia, Horner finally addressed the drama that had consumed his life and thrown his team into chaos.
“I’m married and have three children, and when that intrusion involves your children, and your marriage – and I’m very thankful I have a beautiful family and a very supportive wife. I’m the only one who has been named in this,” Horner said.
“So of course, it’s very trying. When there’s children involved, family, parents … it’s not pretty.
“ … The intrusion on my family is now enough. We need to move forward. Obviously there’s been an awful lot of coverage surrounding this. But one has to go back to the basis that a grievance was raised, it was investigated, and it was dismissed.”
So with the allegations surfacing before the first Grand Prix, and the WhatsApp messages before the second, what can we expect before the third event at Melbourne’s Albert Park?
Red Bull has denied Horner is on the cusp of being sacked before the Aussie event starts on March 21.
Reports suggested Max Verstappen threatened to walk out if the team’s senior adviser Helmut Marko, 80, was dropped in the aftermath of the WhatsApp leaks.
It has been reported tensions have grown between Horner and Marko with claims Marko was investigated over the leak.
Further upping the ante were reports Verstappen may quit for rival Mercedes if the axe falls on Marko.
“I have a lot of respect for Helmut, and what we have achieved together. It goes very far. My loyalty to him is very big, and I have always expressed this to everyone within the team, everyone high up, that he is an important part in my decision making for the future.
“It is very important that he stays. I feel like if such an important pillar falls away, and I have told the team this, that it is not good for my situation as well.”
Like many twists to this story, it has been unclear for much of the week if Marko would make it to Melbourne – something he has raised himself in interviews.
“I think it’s such a complex issue. Again, we want peace in the team,” Marko said.
That is looking increasingly unlikely with off-track action now producing enough drama to take centre stage.
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