Spice Girl wife standing by F1 boss facing harassment probe Christian Horner

A bruised but unbowed Christian Horner insisted he has the full support of former Spice Girl wife, Geri, following accusations of “controlling behaviour” made by a female colleague.

He also stated that he will still be Red Bull team principal when the Formula One season opens in Bahrain on March 2.

Among the most successful figures in the sport’s history, the 50-year-old Englishman conducted a series of media interviews at the team’s car launch in Milton Keynes ovenight, amid the biggest crisis of his career. He categorically denies the claims.

Speaking for the first time since the story broke last week, he talked of “business as usual”. It is not quite so, of course. This controversy is overshadowing preparations for Red Bull’s upcoming title defence.

Yet Horner, whatever else is happening, exhibited bravery in sticking to his planned media engagements (though how would it have looked had he ducked his duties?).

Truth be told, Horner was a little ashen, and not his usual jocular self. He would normally have made a few jokes on launch days like these. He might have commented on someone’s shoes or landed a playful dig in the ribs.

Yet, while he was not in the least bit jokey during his lunchtime engagements, he refused to be written off.

Ahead of testing in Bahrain next week, as a precursor to the first race in the Gulf kingdom, he said: “I have a very supportive family and a very supportive wife.

“My focus has been on the job and the season ahead.”

Asked if he would be in Bahrain, he said: “Yes.”

There is no timescale for the completion of the inquiry into his alleged behaviour, a process being carried out by an external lawyer, an English KC, whose name has not been divulged. Horner argued his defence to him for eight hours last Friday.

In credit to Red Bull, they held their launch in-person. Ferrari, in contrast, put theirs on Zoom. They also failed to make a virtue of the exhilarating news that they have signed Lewis Hamilton for 2025.

Questions were censored and swerved. Signing the seven-time world champion was cause to shout from the rooftops. And Mercedes, even worse, conducted an anaemic virtual launch lasting nine minutes.

Though Horner showed up, the to-and-fro of evidence between accuser and accused means he is advised not to talk about the intricacies of it all for now.

However, he said: “There’s been a day job to be getting on with. I feel the support within the business and our partners, and within the industry. It is overwhelming.

“There’s a process that’s ongoing at the moment. Some allegations have been made, which I fully deny and I have fully complied with that process and will continue to do so until it’s dealt with.

“Moments of uncertainty bring us together and I’ve never seen a team more together and supporting than it is.

“Everybody’s focused on one thing, which is the performance of that car to go out and defend both the world titles that we’ve worked so hard to achieve over the last couple of years.

“So the car is what everybody is invested in and I look forward to seeing it in action in Bahrain next week.

“I’m absolutely committed to this team. I’ve been here since the beginning. I’ve built this team. There have been highs and lows along the way.

“We have won 113 races. Won seven drivers’ world championships. We’ve won six constructors’ world championships. All in 19 seasons and that’s in the history books.

“But it’s what lies ahead that’s important. So my focus is on the future. It is on Red Bull powertrains becoming a start-up engine business. We have an advanced technology business system producing the first ever Red Bull track car. There’s a lot going on on the campus.

“I’ve been back to back in the office doing my job.”

In a separate interview with the BBC, Horner said: “Of course, it is a distraction for the team, but the team are very together, they’re very focused on the season ahead and have been tremendously supportive.”

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen has won the drivers’ title in each of the last three seasons. The team won all but one of the 22 races last year.

Verstappen said his relationship with Horner remains “very good” ahead of the new season.

“We’ve seen each other quite a few times. We’ve achieved a lot of things together so that doesn’t change suddenly,” he said. “My contact with Christian has been the same as on the first day. It’s been like normal.”

Verstappen also expects his old rival Lewis Hamilton to have an awkward last season at Mercedes before the seven-times world champion switches to Formula One rivals Ferrari for 2025.

“To announce something that big that early in the season, I think for sure for the rest of the year is ... a little bit awkward,” he said.

“For sure he has a great relationship with everyone, especially also with (team boss) Toto (Wolff), but he also knows at one point and Toto for sure will tell him ‘I’m really sorry, we’ve had all this success but you can’t be part of certain meetings any more’.”

Hamilton has won six of his titles with Mercedes and he 39-year-old’s move to Ferrari, on a multi-year deal and taking the place of Carlos Sainz alongside Charles Leclerc, surprised the sport when it was announced this month.

Several key Red Bull figures were in Milton Keynes – home to 1500 staff – for the launch, including those from the energy drink company’s HQ in Salzburg, including managing director Oliver Mintzlaff, former chief executive of football club RB Leipzig.

He and Horner spoke for a few moments. Mintzlaff also talked briefly to Max Verstappen, Horner’s star driver who said relations with his team principal were “like normal”.

There is some sense in suggestions there is a move in Salzburg to clip Horner’s wings, a plot that has the Austrian contingent going up against Chalerm Yoovidhya, the Thai billionaire-heir to the company (who was not in Milton Keynes on Thursday, but is thought to be a Horner backer).

Whatever the inquiry into Horner will reveal, F1 has a propensity for backbiting viciousness, but, for now at least, Horner is refusing to be deposed.