Motor racing-Geri Halliwell joins embattled husband Horner at Bahrain GP

In a public display of unity, Red Bull Formula One team boss Christian Horner and his wife Geri Halliwell were spotted walking hand-in-hand into the Bahrain Grand Prix paddock on Saturday. The couple seemed composed as they headed towards Red Bull’s hospitality area, engaging with VIP guests while being photographed and filmed by the media.

Their joint appearance at the season-opening race followed the circulation of an anonymous email to F1 media and key paddock figures, including the president of the sport’s governing body and rival team bosses, containing a Google drive link to supposed evidence related to allegations against Horner.

An exhaustive investigation conducted by an independent lawyer representing Red Bull GmbH, the team’s parent company, exonerated Horner of any misconduct accusations just two days before.

Before the email was distributed, Mercedes and McLaren team principals Toto Wolff and Zak Brown had urged Formula One’s governing body to press Red Bull for more clarity regarding the investigation.

The sport’s governing body acknowledged that the controversy surrounding Horner was detrimental to the sport but stated that there were no immediate plans to initiate its own probe.

Horner met with the sport’s governing body president and Formula One’s chief executive in the paddock the day after being cleared of the allegations.

As the longest-serving team boss in the sport, Horner has been at the helm of Red Bull since they entered Formula One in 2005. Under his leadership, the team secured their sixth constructors’ title last year with a near-perfect record of 21 wins out of 22 races.

Heading into Saturday’s race from pole position, Red Bull’s star driver Max Verstappen is the favorite to kick off his pursuit of a fourth consecutive world title with a victory that would extend his impressive streak at the top of the Formula One standings to 40 races.

(Editing by Ed Osmond)