Motorsport

MAX VERSTAPPEN backed his beleaguered Red Bull boss Christian Horner as the sexting storm rumbled on.But the reigning world champion admits Horner was distracted as he raced to pole for today’s Bahrain Grand Prix opener.Max Verstappen admitted Christian Horner is ‘distracted’Credit: GettyThe Red Bull boss – married to Spice Girl Geri Halliwell – is at the centre of a sext scandalCredit: GettyVerstappen, 26, said: “He is fully committed to the team, he’s also here for the performance. Of course, probably a little bit distracted.“When I look at how Christian operates within the team, he has been an incredible team boss, so absolutely, from the performance side of things, you can’t even question that.“So that’s what I’m also dealing with. I speak to Christian a lot, and also throughout the weekend here.“But like I said before, we just focus on the performance side of things, and that is how we all work together.”READ MORE ON HORNERHorner, 50, was cleared in an internal investigation of any wrongdoing towards a female staffer on Wednesday.But he is battling for his future after key F1 personnel were sent an anonymous email claiming to contain evidence relating to Red Bull’s internal investigation.The message contained images of WhatsApp exchanges in 79 Google Drive files which Horner refused to comment on. The bombshell threatened to disrupt their preparations for the 2024 season’s F1 curtain-raiser.Most read in MotorsportHowever, Verstappen responded by taking the 33rd pole of his career ahead of Charles Leclerc and George Russell.Dutchman Verstappen, 26, added: “From my side and what I can see also from the mechanics and the engineers, we are fully focused on the car and the performance here during the weekend.Motor racing world in ‘disbelief’ at Christian Horner alleged leaked messages“That is how it should be and what we continue to do, because it’s not our business. We’re not particularly involved in that.“And we are here, we are paid to do our job, and that’s what we are doing and that’s also what we love doing. So that’s what we focus on.”Horner arrived at the Bahrain International Circuit alone on Saturday morning to make the final preparations for the Bahrain GP. He stopped briefly to check his phone and sign autographs for children as he paced around the paddock. His wife Geri Halliwell later broke her cover to stand by Horner. Yesterday, the Red Bull chief sat down for showdown talks with FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem amid the sext scandal.Ben Sulayem admitted the saga is having a negative impact which is overshadowing the sport.He said: “It’s damaging the sport. This is damaging on a human level.”It comes asHalliwell was left “heartbroken and humiliated” after hundreds of intimate sexts sent by her hubby to a female employee were leaked.The Spice Girl, 51, touched down in Bahrain on Thursday night just as the bombshell messages began to spread around the globe but lay low before her appearance at the track ahead of the race.Geri reportedly refused to see her husband after the leak but was talked into it by his family.Some of the grubby messages were reported, including a request for a “Santa PJ selfie”.He also regularly joked about Spanx, telling the woman she looks “attractive” in them.In another, Horner starts by asking if he can make a “confession”.He then describes a trip on a private jet to Dubai where he claims that the woman got him “out of control”.The Sun learned that Geri knew of the female employee at the centre of the texting scandal.READ MORE SUN STORIESA Red Bull insider said she even approved of the woman working in Horner’s team.It comes after a mole close to the Red Bull Racing camp allegedly detonated the Christian Horner sexting scandal in a bid to oust the F1 team boss, The Sun revealed.Horner arrived at the Bahrain International Circuit on his own on Saturday morningCredit: PAGeri is said to be ‘heartbroken and humiliated’ by the leaks but still turned up tracksideCredit: PAThe Spice Girl was flying to Bahrain when the intimate messages were revealedCredit: Getty More

GERI Halliwell has broken cover in Bahrain to stand by her husband Christian Horner despite the couple being rocked by his Red Bull sext scandal.The Spice Girl, 51, landed in Bahrain on Thursday night but had since been laying low amid fears more bombshell messages could be leaked.Pictures showed Geri Horner and her husband sharing an intimate moment before the opening race of the seasonCredit: GettyThe couple are said to be in crisis after seedy messages sent to an employee by Horner were leakedCredit: PAChristian Horner and Geri Halliwell pictured together at the Bahrain Grand Prix on SaturdayCredit: GettyThe scandal-hit couple were pictured holding handsCredit: GettyGeri landed in Bahrain on Thursday night but hadn’t been seen until todayCredit: PAA smiley Geri puts on a brave face before the Bahrain Grand PrixDespite the storm surrounding her marriage with scandal-hit Horner, Geri decided to show up for her husband as the pair were pictured together at the Grand Prix.Mobbed by photographers, the pair climbed the steps to the hospitality unit.Geri and Horner were said to stay inside for a few minutes before speaking with guests outside on the patio area.The couple then went back inside.Read more on Geri HalliwellPictures also showed the husband and wife sharing an intimate kiss moments before the opening race of the season. The Spice Girl went for her signature white outfit, which she is known for wearing at F1 races.It comes asMost read in MotorsportThe dazzling Spice Girl was seen sporting her signature white outfit, a classic choice for F1 racesCredit: PAThe couple was seen together and smiling at the Bahrain Grand PrixCredit: PAThe pair was mobbed by photographers as they walked along the paddockCredit: GettyGeri reportedly went ‘into meltdown’ when she landed in Bahrain to discover Horner’s sext leakCredit: APIt comes after Geri was said to have “felt like a fool” for trusting her “prince charming” husband after he played down sexting claims.The singer is now facing “the biggest decision of her life” as she is deciding what the next move in her marriage with Horner will be, her friends said.She will most likely bunker down in the couple’s Cotswolds country home and make her decision behind closed doors, the Daily Mail reported.Friends of the star reportedly stated it would “break her heart” to end things with Christian, whom she considers the “Prince Charming” she has waited for since she was a little girl.An insider said: “She acts on impulse a lot. She has a temper on her, that’s for sure, and doesn’t Christian know it.”But the question now that her inner circle is asking is whether Christian will be sent to the dog house for a few days or whether this is it for good.A source close to the pop star, who was on a Bahrain-bound private jet when the messages emerged, told The Sun Horner tried to play down the scandal.Christian Horner breaks silence on alleged leaksThey said: “Geri is heartbroken and feels utterly humiliated. She trusted him when he tried to play down the scandal.“He always told her he’d done nothing wrong. This will really hurt Geri, who has put everything into their marriage.””She worked hard for all of this, she jumped through hoops to get him, so will she dump him?”It is understood Geri went “into meltdown” when she landed in Bahrain to discover Horner’s sext leak.Her concerned pals added she seemed “fragile” when they saw her a few weeks ago.Earlier today, a smiling Christian Horner appeared to have shrugged off his sext scandal as he arrived alone at the Bahrain Grand Prix.The Red Bull Racing chief was pictured focused and ready to take on the 2024 Formula One season.But soon after his star driver Max Verstappen said the team principal is “probably a little bit distracted” as he faces more questions over his sext probe, Sky News reported.He said: “It’s not our business. “When I look at how Christian operates within the team, he has been an incredible team boss, so absolutely from the performance side of things, you can’t even question that.”So that’s what I am also dealing with. I speak to Christian a lot, and also of course throughout the weekend here he is fully committed to the team.Verstappen added: “He’s also here for the performance, of course probably a little bit distracted, but like I said before, we just focus on the performance things and that’s how we all work together.”READ MORE SUN STORIESHorner said he “won’t comment on anonymous speculation” after material reported to have been part of Red Bull’s recent inquiry into him was leaked.The racing chief previously refused to comment on the leaked WhatsApp sexts, which were sent anonymously to F1 bosses and media outlets on Thursday.A smiling Christian Horner was seen today at the Bahrain Grand PrixCredit: PAThe Red Bull Racing boss seemed to have shrugged off his sext bombshell scandalCredit: PAHorner with his wife Geri Halliwell pictured at the F1 Monaco Grand Prix last MayCredit: GettyHow Christian Horner’s shock texts were leakedBy Ben Hunt

IT was an anonymous email sent and designed for maximum impact.
It landed in my inbox almost 24 hours to the minute since Christian Horner was cleared of any wrongdoing following Red Bull’s internal investigation.
Other names included Liberty Media chief Greg Maffei, who owns the rights to F1. The FIA president, Mohammed Ben Sulayem and F1 CEO Stefano Dominacali.
The F1 team bosses were also included for good measure. As was Max Verstappen’s father, Jos.
It was from an anonymous sender, the title was simply the date – ‘Feb Twenty Nine’.
Inside it was a Google Drive link containing 79 files claiming to be the evidence from the independent investigation.
There is no way of knowing if they were real or fake yet irrespectively it sent another shockwave through the F1 paddock before this season had even started.
Horner was sitting on the team’s pitwall during second practice in Bahrain when the email dropped.
After the session, he walked out of the team’s garage and into the hospitality unit where he remained as the nuclear fallout began.
He’d survived the outcome of the internal investigation into improper conduct following a complaint from a female colleague.
One wonders whether he will survive this time after this very public humiliation – again, irrespective if they were indeed real or fake.
Just hours earlier, McLaren’s CEO Zak Brown and Mercedes boss Toto Wolff, called on the sport’s governing body, the FIA, demanding transparency.
“I just read the statement, which was pretty basic,” said Wolff. “My personal opinion is we can’t really look behind the curtain.
“There is a lady in an organisation that has spoken to HR and said there was an issue and it was investigated and yesterday the sport has received the message that it’s all fine, we’ve looked at it.
“I believe with the aspiration as a global sport, on such critical topics, it needs more transparency and I wonder what the sport’s position is?
“We’re competitors, we’re a team and we can have our own personal opinions or not. But it’s more like a general reaction or action that we as a sport need to assess, what is right in that situation and what is wrong.
“Are we talking with the right moral approach, with the values based on the speculation that is out there? As a sport, we cannot afford to leave things vague and opaque on critical topics like this, because this is going to catch us out.”
Brown added: “It’s the responsibility ultimately of the organisers of Formula One, the owners of Formula One, to make sure that all the racing teams and the personnel and the drivers and everyone else involved in the sport are operating in a manner in which we all live by.
“I don’t think it’s the teams’ roles and responsibilities. That’s up to FIA and Formula One to ultimately decide and ask what they feel gives them the level of transparency they need to ultimately come to their conclusion and we just have to count on them that they fulfil that obligation to all of us.”
The emailed file will only increase that pressure in the form of scrutiny on Horner – who has always denied the accusations.
It does also put Red Bull in a tricky position.
Should the emailed file be legitimate and have made up elements from the initial report, which had been thoroughly examined and presented by the independent KC, then surely this is nothing new to them and their decision to stick with their team principal remains.
To perform a u-turn on that simply now they have become public would possibly see criticism that they intended to keep their report private to save face.
Whatever the outcome, it is a mess for the world champions.Reports of a wedge driven between Horner and Verstappen’s father have grown in recent weeks.
So it was interesting that Jos Verstappen was in the paddock and wearing a team jacket and seemed unmoved to the chaos happening around him More

FORMULA ONE chief Mohammed Ben Sulayem has broken his silence after his showdown with Christian Horner.The FIA president sat down for crunch talks with Horner on Friday amid the Red Bull team principal’s sext scandal. Christian Horner met with FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem for talks on FridayCredit: GettyThe Red Bull boss arrived at the Bahrain International Circuit on his ownCredit: GettyHorner’s wife Geri Halliwell, pictured together in 2023, is in BahrainCredit: GettyHorner was cleared in an internal investigation of any wrongdoing towards a female staffer on Wednesday.But 24 hours later, a vast trove of intimate texts between the Red Bull chief and a female colleague were leaked, initially to F1 bosses and media outlets.Then on Friday, Horner met with Ben Sulayem on the day before the new 2024 season gets underway in Bahrain. And now the Emirati ex-rally driver has admitted the Horner saga is having a negative impact which is overshadowing the sport.READ MORE ON HORNERBen Sulayem told the Financial Times: “It’s damaging the sport.”This is damaging on a human level.”He also added that the FIA are not planning to investigate Horner at this stage as there has been no official complaint to the organisation. Horner has denied any wrongdoing and refuses to comment on the allegations.Most read in MotorsportHe was spotted smiling as he arrived alone for the curtain-raising Grand Prix on Saturday morning where his driver Max Verstappen starts on pole. The 50-year-old was also seen pacing around the paddock and hospitality area at the circuit, stopping to check his phone and sign autographs for children.Christian Horner breaks silence on alleged leaksHorner’s wife Geri Halliwell was left “heartbroken and humiliated” after hundreds of sexts sent by her hubby to a female employee were leaked.The Spice Girl, 51, touched down in Bahrain on Thursday night just as the bombshell messages began to spread around the globe.Geri reportedly refused to see her husband after his sext leak but was talked into it by his family.Some of the grubby messages were reported, including a request for a “Santa PJ selfie”.It comes asHe also regularly joked about Spanx, telling the woman she looks “attractive” in them.In another, Horner starts by asking if he can make a “confession”.He then describes a trip on a private jet to Dubai where he claims that the woman got him “out of control”.The Sun learned that Geri knew of the female employee at the centre of the texting scandal. READ MORE SUN STORIESA Red Bull insider said she even approved of the woman working in Horner’s team.It comes after a mole close to the Red Bull Racing camp allegedly detonated the Christian Horner sexting scandal in a bid to oust the F1 team boss, The Sun revealed.He will hope to put his sext saga aside for the opening Grand PrixCredit: PAThe couple were out in public together at the horses last monthCredit: Alamy🏁 Complete F1 2024 race calendar – details on every Grand Prix and start time this year 🏁  More

A SMILING Christian Horner appears to have shrugged off his sext scandal as he arrived alone at the Bahrain Grand Prix today.Geri Halliwell landed in Bahrain on Thursday night but has since been laying low amid fears more bombshell messages could be leaked.A smiling Christian Horner was seen today at the Bahrain Grand PrixCredit: PAThe Red Bull Racing boss seemed to have shrugged off his sext bombshell scandalCredit: PAHorner with his wife Geri Halliwell pictured at the F1 Grand Prix of Monaco last MayCredit: GettyMeanwhile, the Red Bull Racing chief was seen today focused and ready to take on the 2024 Formula One season.Horner was pictured on his own today walking into the paddock ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix.The former Spice Girl, 51, is expected to join her husband on the paddock later today as Red Bull bosses confirmed to The Daily Mail.Horner was previously snapped at a practice session in Bahrain with driver Max Verstappen making preparations ahead of Friday’s qualifying.He was also seen pacing from the hospitality area to the team’s garage, stopping only to check his phone and to sign autographs for waiting children.The trove of texts sent anonymously to F1 bosses and media outlets confirmed Horner did send inappropriate messages behind his wife Geri Halliwell’s back, despite being cleared in a Red Bull probe.The team boss refused to comment on the leaked WhatsApp sexts.Some of the grubby messages were reported, including a request for a “Santa PJ selfie”.Most read in MotorsportHe also regularly joked about Spanx, telling the woman she looks “attractive” in them.In another, Horner starts by asking if he can make a “confession”.Christian Horner cleared following investigation into ‘inappropriate behaviour’He then describes a trip on a private jet to Dubai where he claims that the woman got him “out of control”.It was reported that the Red Bull chief – who has won 13 world titles since heading the team as a 31-year-old in 2005 – had been hauled in for crisis talks with F1 bosses.The tension was palpable down in the paddock, with Red Bull team members avoiding mentioning the simmering scandal, other than the odd whisper.Horner’s wife Geri Halliwell was left “heartbroken and humiliated” after hundreds of sexts sent by her hubby to a female employee were leaked.The Spice Girl, 51, touched down in Bahrain on Thursday night just as the bombshell messages began to spread around the globe.Geri reportedly refused to see her husband after his sext leak but was talked into it by his family.She was said to be adamant about not seeing her husband, but Horner’s mother pleaded with her to publicly support him as a gesture of solidarity, The Mirror reported.A source close to the pop star, who was on a Bahrain-bound private jet when the messages emerged, told The Sun: “Geri is heartbroken and feels utterly humiliated. She trusted him when he tried to play down the scandal.“He always told her he’d done nothing wrong. This will really hurt Geri, who has put everything into their marriage.”It comes asMeanwhile, The Sun has learned that Geri knew of the female employee at the centre of the texting scandal. A Red Bull insider said she even approved of the woman working in Horner’s team.It was also claimed yesterday that the employee was “unhappy” after the messages were leaked and believed the probe into his behaviour had been “one-sided”.A friend said: “We speak every day and she’s very unhappy – of course. In her way of thinking it’s all very one-sided and she has been crucified.”It comes after a mole close to the Red Bull Racing camp allegedly detonated the Christian Horner sexting scandal in a bid to oust the F1 team boss, The Sun can reveal.Red Bull are investigating claims that an unknown player connected to the team orchestrated the WhatsApp leak and acted as a “puppet master”.The anonymous release came a day after team principal Horner was cleared of sending improper texts to a female employee.An F1 insider told The Sun: “Rumours are swirling at Red Bull that there’s a mole in their ranks, someone who has it in for Christian.“The leak came as a shock. Someone has a vendetta against Christian.”That person acted like a puppet master.“It seems to have been calculated to cause maximum damage to Christian’s career, humiliating him just 24 hours before the F1 season begins.READ MORE SUN STORIES“He believes someone set out to destroy him professionally and personally.”But the team stands firmly behind Christian and everyone’s working towards a common goal.”A calm Christian talking to fellow Red Bull staff ahead of this afternoon’s raceCredit: PAHorner arrived on his own at the Bahrain International Circuit on SaturdayCredit: GettyChristian Horner had hundreds of sexts sent by him to a female employee leakedCredit: GettyRed Bull Racing star Max Verstappen arriving at the Bahrain Grand PrixCredit: GettyTheRed Bull Racing team principal was seen on his phone ahead of Practice 3 at the Bahrain International CircuitCredit: PAChristian Horner, left, speaks with Red Bull driver Max VerstappenCredit: APHorner pictured during the third free practice session at the Bahrain International CircuitCredit: RexHorner speaking to FIA president Mohammed bin SulayemCredit: AFP More