Geri Halliwell lands in Bahrain on private jet and puts on brave face after Christian Horner leaked messages

Geri Halliwell lands in Bahrain on private jet and puts on brave face after Christian Horner leaked messages

WATCH NOW: Geri Halliwell 'devastated' over Christian Horner's allegations amid Red Bull open investigation

Lewis Winter

By Lewis Winter


Published: 01/03/2024

- 14:04

Updated: 01/03/2024

- 18:06

The former Spice Girl is in the Middle East to meet with her F1 husband

Geri Halliwell has landed in Bahrain on a private jet as her husband Christian Horner was the subject of 'leaked' text messages and photos allegedly sent by him.

The Spice Girl is said to have taken off from the UK before the leak emerged and landed in the Middle East on Thursday evening to be met with the news.


Horner was cleared of any wrongdoing by Red Bull on Wednesday after an independent investigation into allegations of inappropriate behaviour.

However, the saga took a fresh twist on Thursday afternoon when an anonymous email account leaked a file containing text messages and photos purporting to be evidence from the investigation.

Halliwell was initially delighted by the outcome of the investigation and attempted to put on a brave face, with the Daily Mail claiming she left the UK to fly to Bahrain on Thursday ahead of this weekend's F1 season opener.

But she landed in the country to hear the new developments in the saga and is said to have 'gone into meltdown'.

An insider told the newspaper: "She took off before the email landed. I don't know whether she will be at the race but it will be mayhem if she is. It would be nuts. She may even be flying home."

Halliwell has not yet been seen in the paddock in Bahrain, with Horner continuing as normal ahead of the Grand Prix. But she currently plans to attend Saturday's race as a public show of solidarity.

The same newspaper claimed earlier on Friday that Halliwell had been left 'extremely humiliated' by the apparent leak. The pair married in 2015 and have one child together, seven-year-old Monty.

Red Bull immediately opened an internal investigation in early February after a female employee complained of inappropriate behaviour by Horner.

The 50-year-old team principal continued in his role throughout the process and repeatedly denied the allegations when he spoke to the media.

The investigation was completed at the beginning of this week and the report was sent to Red Bull chiefs in Austria to make a decision.

It was announced on Wednesday that no action would be taken against Horner after a 'fair, rigorous and impartial' investigation.

However, the leak which emerged on Thursday has brought the saga back into the public domain.

It is claimed that a file containing photographs and screenshots of messages was sent to hundreds of F1 journalists.

The file was also sent to other team principals as well as F1 chief executive Stefano Domenicali and FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem.

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Horner quickly released a statement on Thursday evening where he again stressed his innocence in the case.

The statement read: "I won't comment on anonymous speculation, but to reiterate, I have always denied the allegations.

"I respected the integrity of the independent investigation and fully cooperated with it every step of the way.

"It was a thorough and fair investigation conducted by an independent specialist barrister and it has concluded, dismissing the complaint made. I remain fully focused on the start of the season."

Christian Horner and Mohammed Ben Sulayem

Christian Horner spoke with FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem on Friday

Getty

F1 CEO Domenicali and FIA chief Ben Sulayem were set to meet on Friday to discuss the matter.

Horner was also pulled out of the paddock during Practice 3 to speak to Ben Sulayem before returning soon after.

He has been the team principal of Red Bull since 2005, with the Milton Keynes-based team aiming to win a third successive Constructor's Championship this season.

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