F1 boss Christian Horner faces D-Day grilling by lawyer amid claims of ‘vicious power struggle’

SPICE Girl Geri Halliwell’s F1 boss husband will face a D-Day grilling on Friday amid claims of a vicious power struggle.

Red Bull Racing chief Christian Horner is due to be probed by a lawyer over shock allegations of “inappropriate behaviour”.

Sources say the investigation is set to centre on a female employee’s concerns about Horner’s strict work regime and does not relate to any sexual impropriety.

An F1 source told The Sun: “Christian had concerns about her conduct and made it clear he was unhappy.

“She went on to make a complaint about his ‘controlling’ behaviour, which detonated this crisis for the team.”

One F1 source claimed a deliberate attempt was being made to destabilise Horner. Rumours of a power struggle have dogged Red Bull Racing since the death of his ally and billionaire co-founder Dietrich Mateschitz in 2022.

Last year, Horner played down rumours of a rift with adviser Helmut Marko, 80, as a “small difference of opinion”.

Wife Geri, 51, is standing by Horner, 50, who denies the allegations.

An independent lawyer appointed to examine the woman’s claims will quiz him at a UK meeting on Friday.

Neither Horner nor his accuser have been suspended and continue to work among 1,600 employees at the Austrian team’s HQ in Milton Keynes, Bucks.

Another source said: “It’s an awkward situation but it’s unavoidable until the air is cleared and this matter is resolved.”

Red Bull is said to want the issue sorted out before the first race meeting of the new F1 season, which starts in Bahrain at the end of the month.

Since Horner took over as team principal in 2005, Red Bull has won seven F1 world drivers’ championships and six world constructors’ titles. Top driver Max Verstappen is current world champion.

Red Bull Racing referred all inquiries to its Austrian HQ yesterday. A spokesman said: “It would not be appropriate to comment further at this time.”

When asked about allegations made against Horner, his rival team boss at Williams, James Vowles, said: “I think it means we all have to look each other in the mirror and make sure we are posing the right questions internally and acting in a way that we can only be proud of, not today but in the next ten years.”

Source: Motorsport - thesun.co.uk