Christian Horner insists he has the support of his 'incredible wife' Geri Halliwell amid text turmoil: Red Bull chief says his focus is on 'this team and my family' after the couple kissed and held hands during Bahrain Grand Prix

READ MORE: Christian Horner watches his team WIN Bahrain Grand Prix

Christian Horner has insisted he has the support of his ‘incredible wife’ Geri Halliwell after the couple kissed and held hands during the Bahrain Grand Prix.

The Red Bull chief said his ‘focus is on this team’ and ‘my family’ as he kicked off the Formula One season – amid allegations relating to the leak of hundreds of WhatsApp messages which appeared to be written by him to a female colleague.

The messages came on Thursday, just 24 hours after Horner was cleared to continue as Red Bull head following an internal probe into ‘inappropriate behaviour’ by the F1 team’s parent company, Red Bull GmbH.

Horner, who has always denied the claims, said today: ‘I have the support of an incredible family, an incredible wife, an incredible team and everybody within that team.

‘And my focus is going on racing, winning racing and doing the best I can.

‘It was a day about starting the season in he best possible way. My focus is on this team, my family, my wife and racing.’

Christian Horner holds hands with his wife Geri Halliwell during the F1 Grand Prix of Bahrain

The Red Bull chief said his ‘focus is on this team’ and ‘my family’ as he kicked off the Formula One season

Horner placed a kiss on his wife’s lips as the former Spice Girl comes to terms with the controversy around a set of leaked texts

Horner seemed to lean in to peck his wife on the lips as they put on a show of unity

The Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, Bahrain is seen on March 2

Horner stood over his wife and former Spice Girl as the couple embraced in front of the cameras

Horner was speaking after watching Red Bull driver Max Verstappen race to victory ahead of teammate Sergio Perez in second.

Asked if he is confident he will stay on as Red Bull team principal for the rest of the season, Horner replied: ‘Absolutely. Absolutely.’

In a public display of unity with wife Geri ahead of the race, Horner had slipped out of the back of Red Bull’s hospitality suite through a gate to meet her as she arrived at the main entrance of the paddock.

They then held hands as they walked through the paddock to Red Bull’s hospitality suite. During the short walk they were mobbed by photographers and TV crews.

The couple were all smiles at lunch where they were later joined by Red Bull’s head of communication and former F1 team principal Flavio Briatore and Red Bull’s majority shareholder, and Horner ally, Thai billionaire Chalerm Yoovidhya.

Horner headed for the race grid about 45 minutes before the 3pm start, giving Geri a kiss as he left. Geri has been married to him since 2015.

The 51-year-old singer has a son, Montague George Hector Horner, with Horner.

She also has a daughter, Bluebell Madonna, born in 2006, with former partner and screenwriter Sacha Gervasi.

After they kissed, Halliwell seemed to look directly at photographers

Ex-Spice Girl Halliwell has joined her beleaguered husband Horner at the Bahrain Grand Prix today in a show of solidarity after leaked text messages rocked Formula One

Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner monitors the race today

Red Bull’s Formula One driver Max Verstappen celebrates winning the Bahrain Grand Prix on Saturday

‘Unbelievable,’ said Verstappen after claiming his 55th career win. ‘Today went even better than expected. The car was really nice to drive. We had a lot of pace. It was super enjoyable’

After the race, Geri Halliwell was seen showing a thin-lipped smile as she stood next to her embattled husband and Thai billionaire businessman Chalerm Yoovidhya

Horner appeared alongside his wife today after a series of leaked texts has rocked F1

After showing little emotion at the start of the day, Horner brought out a smile ahead of the race

Horner gazed at his wife as she listened to an elderly man in a striped pink shirt talk to her

Horner and Halliwell standing together ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix

Christian Horner showed off a wide smile as he stood next to a Red Bull Formula One race car today

He was seen chatting away to Thai billionaire Chalerm Yoovidhya again before the race as the pair walked on the grid

Horner was surrounded by his Red Bull team as he stood on the track in a jacket and headphones

Earlier he appeared to have bags around his hooded eyes as he marched towards the Red Bull garage before the race

The WhatsApp messages were sent from an anonymous email account to 149 members of the F1 paddock – including the president of the sport’s governing body Mohammed ben Sulayem, F1 chief executive Stefano Domenicali and the grid’s nine other team principals, as well as members of the media.

Horner continues to operate in his role as team principal and chief executive, although it is understood there is considerable unease among the team’s plethora of sponsors and partners.

He spoke only once about the latest allegations as he made his way from Red Bull’s hospitality suite to the team’s garage on Friday.

‘I am not going to comment on anonymous speculation from unknown sources,’ he said.

When asked what comes next, Horner replied: ‘We go racing.’