RED Bull boss Christian Horner was pictured leaving his Highgate home ahead of his D-Day hearing today over allegations of “inappropriate behaviour” towards a female member of staff.
The meeting that will determine whether the F1 chief, 50, will keep his job as the team’s head was moved last-minute to a secret location.
The hearing was initially meant to be held at the team headquarters in Milton Keynes, Bucks but the high media interest forced Red Bull officials to move it to a different location the Times report.
Horner is said to be preparing to fight to save his future at Red Bull after he vowed to pals to “clear his name.”
An independent lawyer who has been appointed to examine the woman’s claims is set to quiz him at the meeting today.
But F1 sources suggested the case may not be resolved before the launch of Red Bull’s 2024 car on February 15.
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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.
Neither Horner nor his accuser have been suspended and continue to work among 1,600 employees at the Austrian team’s HQ.
Horner was seen on Thursday leaving his Highgate home for the first time since news broke of the bombshell allegations.
The world of Formula One was left in shock on Monday after it emerged that Horner had been placed under investigation by Red Bull Austria.
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The parent company said that after being informed of “certain recent allegations” it had hired an “external, specialist lawyer” to probe the claims.
It has allegedly compiled a “dossier of incriminating material” regarding “inappropriate and controlling behaviour” towards one female staffer.
Horner issued an immediate denial on Monday, stating: “I reject these claims entirely.”
His defenders have claimed the accusations are part of a plot to oust him within the team amid an internal power struggle.
Rumours of the unrelated internal issues within the team’s leadership have swirled since the death of co-founder Dietrich Mateschitz in 2022.
After the billionaire’s death, Red Bull drafted a new board of directors to oversee the business.
Former RB Leipzig CEO Oliver Mintzlaff was appointed chief executive.
Despite Red Bull enjoying its most successful season in F1 history in 2023, there was speculation of a rift between Horner and Helmut Marko – Red Bull GmBH’s motorsport advisor.
Rumours even went as far as to suggest Horner was determined to get rid of Marko, 80, from the team.
A look at Christian Horner’s life and career
CHRISTIAN Horner is among the most well-known names in Formula One having helped build Red Bull into one of the biggest teams in the sport.
1973 – Born in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire
1991 – Wins a Formula Renault scholarship after impressing in karting races
1993-1997 – Competed in a host of competitions including British Formula Three, British Formula Two, and Formula 3000
1997 – Founded and developed the F3000 team Arden
1999 – Retired from driving and continued developing the Arden team
2005 – Appointed head of Red Bull team, becoming the youngest ever team principal at that time
2009 – Wins his first races as team principal with Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber
2010 – Wins the Constructors’ Championship and Drivers’ Championship with Vettel – the first of four doubles in a row
2013 – Has a daughter with ex-wife Beverly Allen shortly before the couple split
2014 – Gets engaged to Spice Girls member Geri Halliwell
2015 – Marries Halliwell in Woburn, Bedfordshire
2017 – Horner and Halliwell welcome their son
2021 – Wins another Drivers’ Championship with Max Verstappen, beating Lewis Hamilton on the final lap of the season
2022-23 – Red Bull win the Drivers’ Championship and Constructors’ Championship two years in a row
Horner’s Spice Girl wife Geri Halliwell, 51, is said to be devastated by the bombshell allegations – but will firmly stand by her husband, who she married in 2015.
A source said: “[She is] not talking to anyone at the moment. Geri seems to be simply too upset to engage with anyone. Just lots of tears.
“She will stand by him and be at his side just as much as she always has been. She never misses a race and that will not change.”
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Another source told The Mail: “She is committed to him with every fibre of her being.”
Source: Motorsport - thesun.co.uk
