Motorsport

RED BULL chief Christian Horner is used to living life in the fast lane working in F1.But when it comes to his personal life, the team principal of the motorsport giants prefers a more quiet and slower existence away from the race track.
Red Bull boss Christian Horner lives a life of luxury in the countryCredit: Instagram @christianhorner
Horner poses on the grounds of their Oxfordshire farmhouse with son MontagueCredit: Instagram @therealgerihalliwell
He shares TWO stunning country homes with wife, Spice Girl Geri in Oxfordshire and Hertfordshire and their brood.
The former property is, perhaps, the most lavish and most shared online – boasting its very own duck pond, which they use for boating.
Their farm also houses three miniature donkeys, horses and goats in the estate’s stables.
‘PERFECT’
For Horner, living on a farm offers the ideal existence away from the stresses of the F1 circuit.
Back in 2019, he told Luxury London that the sprawling country abode was the “perfect home to relax in.”
“Restoring the farm has been my hobby – the way I put racing out of my mind,” he added.
“The main house is finished but now the barns are being converted. We’re currently putting the finishing touches to an indoor swimming pool.”
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Certainly, it’s the property in Oxfordshire that gets the most love from Geri on Instagram, who regularly shares candid snaps of her family life.
Horner is stepdad to Geri’s daughter Bluebell Madonna, 15, and the couple share a son, Montague, who is 4. He also has another daughter, Olivia, 8, from a previous relationship with ex-partner Beverley Allen.
F1’s Horner poses on the steps of the home with daughter Olivia from his previous relationshipCredit: Instagram @christianhorner
Son Montague and dad have matching John Deere tractorsCredit: Instagram @christianhorner
An Aston Martin DB5 sits proudly in Horner’s garage
Horner is married to Spice Girl GeriCredit: Instagram @therealgerihalliwell
Geri shows off the home’s swimming poolCredit: Instagram @therealgerihalliwell
Christian has been spied alongside his boy riding a mini tractor alongside dad’s John Deere.
He’s also been seen standing with his vintage Aston Martin DB5, which was Sean Connery’s car of choice as James Bond in Goldfinger.
READY STEADY COOK
Geri appears happy to play the role of housewife, often sharing photos in the kitchen rustling up treats.
A budding chef, she has shown off her baking skills by crafting cakes using a customised Ginger Spice KitchenAid mixer, which Christian had specially designed for her.
And with four separate ovens to choose from with the AGA range the kitchen boasts, she has plenty of space for her other favourite pastime – making bread.
You can bet, Christian, who also loves using the outdoor barbecue, and the kids are well fed in the Horner household with Geri’s production line of cakes and bread.

Geri is often spied in the kitchen and loves bakingCredit: Instagram @therealgerihalliwell
Christian shows off his grilling skills with the outdoor barbecueCredit: Instagram @christianhorner
ROCK AROUND THE CLOCK
Christian and Geri have a number of reception room to entertain from.
However, the most popular one appears to be where a £16,000 original Wurlitzer can be found.
When she celebrated her 45th birthday, Geri posted a video online singing along to Michael Jackson hit Billie Jean while thanking Christian for the music, which suggested it was a gift for her.
Another living room shows off a stunning chandelier, as well as a marble fireplace.
A £16,000 vintage Wurlitzer can be seen in a reception room, which was a gift from Christian for Geri’s 45th birthdayCredit: Instagram @therealgerihalliwell
The Oxfordshire property boasts several reception roomsCredit: Instagram @therealgerihalliwell
A spacious dining room was seen when Montague celebrated his birthdayCredit: Instagram @therealgerihalliwell
The glam couple also have a bar space in their propertyCredit: Instagram @therealgerihalliwell
OUTDOOR SPACE
The family love taking advantage of the huge grounds on offer at their farmhouse.
And why not when you’ve got an incredible duck pond so big you can go boating on it.
Horner and Geri can even take their dogs for a walk around the expansive gardens.
The pair have even been seen zooming around on a quad bike, as well as picking raspberries in the garden with Montague.
Miniature donkeys live in the stables
The grounds are vast on the Horner’s Oxfordshire plot
The Horners show off their horses and have their own stableCredit: Instagram @therealgerihalliwell
Geri picks raspberries with Montague in their lush gardenCredit: Instagram @therealgerihalliwell
The duck pond on the property has its own boat
Christian and Geri live the country life away from the racing circuitCredit: Instagram @therealgerihalliwell
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Of course, no farm would be complete without animals either.
And Christian and Geri boast three miniature donkeys that are housed in the stables, as well as some goats.
The singer often shares videos online when it’s feeding time.
Clearly, you can forget the fancy racing circuit of heading to places like Dubai or Monte Carlo. A farmhouse is where it’s at. More

LEWIS HAMILTON says Max Verstappen DELIBERATELY locked up in qualifying as part of a title decider ‘conspiracy’.The Dutchman took a scintillating pole position lap hailed by Red Bull boss Christian Horner as one of the best of the year.
Lewis Hamilton believes Max Verstappen deliberately locked-up at Turn OneCredit: EPA
It was a far cry from his disappointment just seven days ago when he hit the wall at the final turn on another flying lap.
But the small lock-up – in the unusually dramatic middle section – could have huge implications in this weekend’s thrilling championship battle, Verstappen now set to start in Abu Dhabi on different tyres to Hamilton.
And it did not go unnoticed by Hamilton, who seemed to accuse his rival of ruining his tyres on purpose.
Hamilton said: “It was interesting that lock-up into Turn One. A conspiracy but no one locks up into Turn One and if you do it is not a big one.
“I think they did it deliberately so they chose to go on to the soft tyre.”
Why could it prove so crucial? F1 rules state that drivers have to start the race on the same set of tyres they set their quickest lap in Q2.
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Verstappen’s lock-up came on a set of medium, yellow-walled, tyres, as he slid while trying to slow down his Red Bull.
It caused a flat-spot on his tyre – the upshot was it would hamper his performance at the start of the race.
It meant that Red Bull were forced to swap him on to the quicker but less durable soft tyre, with the red walls.
That means Verstappen will likely benefit from better pace off the line.
However he could be reeled in by Hamilton in the race as they are less durable and Verstappen will have to pit first.
It leaves the race delicately poised as Hamilton and Verstappen will start the race on different strategies in what will prove to pitch the two team’s at each other.
“I think they did it deliberately so they chose to go on to the soft tyre.”Lewis Hamilton
Hamilton however, thinks he is on the right tyre choice.
He added: “I hope we are on the right one and time will tell, but if they have the degradation we think will happen to the soft tyre, we will be in a good place.”
Pole position means the omens are good for Verstappen, as the last six winners of this race have started P1, the strategic game of chess promises to be captivating.
For Hamilton, he took another swipe at Verstappen saying that he actually prefers to be starting BEHIND the Dutchman.
He quipped: “I’m still on the front row, we’ve got the difference between the tyres and I’m grateful I can see where he is.”
The reference was to their controversial coming together in Monza where Verstappen went over the top of his Merc, or perhaps their recent duel in Saudi Arabia.
Despite having missed out on pole, Hamilton was nonetheless pleased with lining up in second but did fire a shot at teammate, Valtteri Bottas.
He also said he felt Red Bull’s tactics of using Sergio Perez to give Verstappen a tow should be outlawed.
Max Verstappen will start in pole position at the title-deciding Abu Dhabi Grand PrixCredit: Getty
The Red Bull team tactics were also slammed by HamiltonCredit: Rex
It is difficult to agree with the Brit, who has ironically benefited from the tactic in the past where one driver is sacrificed to give the other the benefit of slipstream.
In this instance the Mexican performed the perfect slingshot around Turn Nine of Verstappen’s flying lap that secured him pole.
Verstappen said: “That first run was very nice, and a nice tow and nicely executed as well.
“Whatever the gap was, I might have gained a tenth towards turn nine, which is not a massively long straight.
“Nevertheless, Checo [Perez] is a great team-mate, a real pleasure to work with, so a big thank you to him.”
Hamilton, however, said the practice should be stopped and added: “We’ve never, ever really done that.
“I like Valtteri to focus on…we work as a team and Valtteri needed to get the best job done for himself to have both of us as high up as possible.
“It’s never something we discuss or we work on and I don’t believe it should have been done.”
Meanwhile, Hamilton, who was booed after qualifying by the orange-clad Verstappen fans, said he would use the jeers as “fuel”.
And he said he is feeling “a million times better” than when he was last fighting for the title on the final day of the season – back in 2016 when he lost out to Nico Rosberg.
He said: “I feel] a million times different. It’s a much, much different scenario. Completely different and a million times better I feel now than I did then. I feel good.
“It is not something I particularly want to go into. I am just in a different place in life than in 2016
“[I’m] facing different resistance in life and this time I’m just in a different and much happier place.”
When asked if he is a better driver now than when he battled with Rosberg, Hamilton added: “Yes. And teammate.” More

MAX Verstappen has drawn first blood in his battle with Lewis Hamilton for the F1 crown by taking pole position at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.It is advantage Red Bull going into Sunday’s final showdown, with Hamilton second on the grid and McLaren’s Lando Norris qualifying in third place.
Max Verstappen celebrates after taking pole position in Abu DhabiCredit: AFP
Lewis Hamilton was fastest after Q1 but had to settle for second placeCredit: AFP
Hamilton set a blistering pace round the track and led the pack from Q1 but Verstappen responded well to record the fastest time of Q2.
And the Dutchman maintained his composure going into Q3, beating Hamilton by three-hundredths of a second to take pole.
Hamilton will have to call on his 14 years experience as he looks to overtake Verstappen across the 58 laps tomorrow.
Hamilton has a brilliant record in Abu Dhabi having won four of the last seven races in the UAE capital.
But it was Verstappen who stood atop the podium in 2020 after taking pole.
Verstappen will also take confidence from his performance in Saudi Arabia and will aim to hold off Hamilton once more.
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Verstappen had to overcome a last-minute change to his car with Red Bull identifying an issue with his rear wing minutes before the start of qualifying.
A delighted Verstappen said after the race: “It was an amazing feeling, we definitely improved the car again in qualifying.
“I’m very happy with this it is what we wanted.
“Now I am looking forward to tomorrow because that is most important.
“I was very relaxed going into qualifying and I know my team always give me the best car.”

And Hamilton said: “First Max did a great lap and we couldn’t compete with that time.
“We couldn’t answer to that lap, it was a fantastic lap from him.
“But we’re in a good position with our tyres tomorrow and hopefully its a good race.
“The last lap was nice and clean I just couldn’t go any quicker…I couldn’t beat that time, he fully deserves top spot.
“I’m still on the front row, I’m grateful I can see where he is!” More