Christian Horner admits ‘testing time for my family’ after public display of affection with wife Geri

Oracle Red Bull Racing Team principal Christian Horner kisses wife Geri Horner ahead of the Grand Prix of Bahrain. Photo / Getty Images

Christian Horner admitted he and his family have been through a “testing time” after allegations by a female colleague, as he and wife Geri put on a united front in Bahrain on Saturday.

The beleaguered Red Bull chief kissed and embraced Geri in front of a scrum of photographers at the season-opening Grand Prix.

“It’s been very testing for my family but we are very strong as a family and our focus is on this race,” Horner said.

He added: “We are here to go racing and that is my job. So this is what we are focused on and this is what we are here to do.”

Wearing a cream dress and nude heels, the former Spice Girl held hands with Horner, 50, as they entered the paddock together roughly two hours before the first race of the year.

Horner, the Red Bull team principal, had been facing an internal investigation into his behaviour, after a female colleague accused him of controlling behaviour.

Last Wednesday Red Bull’s parent company Red Bull GmbH confirmed it had cleared Horner of any wrongdoing.

Yet less than 24 hours later, a cache of screengrabs from WhatsApp exchanges – purportedly between Horner and his accuser – was sent from an anonymous email address, febtwentyninth@gmail.com.

Horner said: “I am not going to comment on what motives whatever person may have for doing this. My focus is on this team, my family, my wife and going racing. I have the support of an incredible family, an incredible wife and an incredible team and everybody within that team. And my focus is going racing, winning racing and doing the best I can.”

Recipients of the material included Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) president Mohammed ben Sulayem, F1 chief executive Stefano Domenicali and several journalists who had covered the case.

The 79 screenshots sparked speculation over whether Geri Horner, 51, would join her husband for the opening race of the season after all.

But on Saturday, she arrived at the main entrance to the paddock wearing her wedding and engagement rings. Photographers and reporters followed her and Horner as they made their way to the Red Bull motorhome.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner (right) chats with Red Bull driver Sergio Perez of Mexico at the pits during a Formula One pre-season test. Photo / AP

The couple lingered on the veranda outside the Red Bull motorhome for a few minutes to talk to the owner of Heineken, Charlene de Carvalho-Heineken, and her husband Michel.

Flavio Briatore, the former Renault team boss, later went into Red Bull to talk to them.

Red Bull’s Thai co-owner Chalerm Yoovidhya, who is rumoured to have supported Horner throughout the investigation, joined the Horners at the Red Bull motorhome shortly after their arrival, where he embraced the racing chief with a hug before sharing lunch with Geri along with his wife.

Footballer Neymar, a guest of Red Bull’s, was another visitor and posed for photographs with both Red Bull drivers Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez.

The former Spice Girl flew out to the Kingdom on Thursday, aboard property billionaire Tony Gallagher’s private jet, but had not been seen in public since.

Geri Horner has a daughter Bluebell, 17, and a son, Monty, with her husband, who also has an eight-year-old daughter, Olivia.

The couple first met at the Monaco Grand Prix in 2009 and married six years later.

Despite the case against Horner having been dismissed by an independent barrister appointed by Red Bull’s parent company earlier this week, he remains under intense wider scrutiny.

There have been calls from rival team principals, including Mercedes’ Toto Wolff and McLaren’s Zak Brown, for Red Bull Austria to show more transparency over the ruling, for the FIA or Formula One management to take action to satisfy themselves that the investigation was as thorough as

Red Bull GmBH says it was and speculation as to what Red Bull’s partners such as Ford and Oracle are thinking.

Sources at the team suggest they are satisfied with the outcome of the report, but none has yet said so publicly.