Geri Halliwell did not ‘blindly’ stand by her husband Christian Horner when he was hit by an F1 text scandal, a friend of the former Spice Girl has revealed.
The 52-year-old pop star ‘had questions’ of the Red Bull boss, 51 – with a source adding that she is ‘no pushover’.
He was accused of sending inappropriate late-night texts to a woman in her 40s, who took her concerns to HR at the Formula 1 team.
He was put under investigation for alleged ‘coercive behaviour’ towards an unnamed employee. He has since been cleared of misconduct following an internal investigation which has allowed him to keep his £8million-a-year job.
The revelations come as the scandal is again in the spotlight as a documentary has shown Horner’s reaction to the paddock furore – branding fellow team principal Zak Brown a ‘prick’ for criticising him.
Hit Netflix series Drive to Survive follows the moment the sport was rocked by a hoard of texts and photographs, supposedly between Horner and a female colleague, were leaked to influential figures and journalists within the sport ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix.
The race saw Ms Halliwell break cover, after jetting over from the UK to join her under-fire husband in a show of solidarity. The messages were allegedly leaked while she was on the flight.
But now a friend has revealed that she was not burying her head in the ground and the allegations came as a ‘shock’ to her.
The told The Sun: ‘People think Geri was just blindly standing by her man through the whole thing but it’s not like that at all.
The revelations come as the scandal is again in the spotlight as a documentary has shown Horner’s reaction to the paddock furore – branding fellow team principal Zak Brown a ‘prick’ for criticising him
The couple, seen here at the Bahrain Grand Prix in March this year, faced questions over their marriage after Christian Horner was embroiled in a WhatsApp messaging controversy
Geri posed alongside her husband Christian Horner following his investiture ceremony in December
‘When the allegations first came out, she of course had questions.
‘It was a shock to both of them when the allegations blew up – they never saw it coming and a lot of people were spreading hurtful rumours, but it was all untrue, they are in a really good place right now.’
Horner has since been cleared by two independent investigations after Red Bull called in top lawyers to look into the claims.
The employee’s appeal against the initial inquiry was dismissed in August.
Later that month, Horner said that he was ‘relieved’ that there had been a formal conclusion to the allegations of inappropriate behaviour against him.
He and Geri, who wed in 2015 and share a young son, are now said to be putting the furore behind them.
At the time of the initial revelations, Ms Halliwell stood resolutely by him throughout the allegations, which he always denied.
The accuser was later suspended following the findings of the investigation, which sparked fury from campaign groups who claimed ‘women just don’t have confidence that their complaints will be investigated properly.’
Horner’s wife Geri (pictured at a different Buckingham Palace event in November) was among those there again today as her husband was honoured
At the time of the initial revelations, Ms Halliwell stood resolutely by him throughout the allegations, which he always denied. Pictured: Horner in Bahrain on February 28
In December last year the singer caused a stir when she took to the stage at the Royal Albert Hall in London to defiantly insist that she ‘belonged to no man’.
She appeared poised and confident as she chose to read ‘All My Life I’ve Belonged to No Man’ by 1800s radical feminist, Flora Tristan, during a star-studded edition of Letters Live.
As the only reader to make an opening speech, she described Flora as an ‘inspiration’ before reading the ‘delicious’ letter that she ‘couldn’t wait to share.’
‘I think at least one person in here tonight needs to hear this letter,’ she told the packed Albert Hall audience.
Dressed in a crisp white shirt and black bow tie, the Spice Up Your Life singer read aloud: ‘A superior woman must be superior with everyone and in all circumstances.
‘As for declarations of love, I received hundreds of them, I have the huge misfortune of being a pretty woman.’
She concluded: ‘I no longer get cross with those who behave badly, though it pains me.’
In a clip circulated in advance of Drive to Survive premiere yesterday, Horner began addressing the tumultuous start of his 2024 and the bombshell leak itself by stressing: ‘The higher you rise, the sharper the knives.
The race last year (pictured) saw Ms Halliwell break cover, after jetting over from the UK to join her under-fire husband in a show of solidarity. The messages were allegedly leaked while she was on the flight.
Christian and Geri Horner celebrate their horse Lift Me Up winning at Warwick in late January
‘I’ve reached the top of my game and I never thought in a million years I’d have a challenge like this in my career,’ Horner continued.
‘It’s a crucial time of year, in a job that I do, you’re the front face of the organisation. You can either hide away or you can get out there and face it.’
The Red Bull team have always been a fiery subject of the Netflix drama, with champion driver Max Verstappen repeatedly playing a key role. He and Horner were booed at F1’s 2024 launch event in London last month.
In another clip, Brown made comments in the immediate aftermath of the leak as greater scrutiny was placed on the internal inquiry that had cleared Horner in February 2024.
The McLaren boss said that he advocated for the sports owners and organisers 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 which we all live by.’
More footage then shows Horner walking to Red Bull’s hospitality suite and saying ‘Zak’s a p****. I’ll get through it.’ The expletive is believed to have replaced a much stronger word.
The source added to the newspaper that they are ‘not phased’ by the Netflix show and are instead ‘focused on the future’.
Horner has led Red Bull’s F1 team since 2005, winning six constructors’ championships between 2010 and 2023.
His career began as a racing driver, becoming a race winner in the 1992 British Formula Renault Championship before switching to team management after retiring from competitive driving at the age of 25.
