Christian Horner's accuser to be grilled again ahead of Chinese GP

Christian Horner will be in China this weekend for race five of the season (Photo: Getty)

The woman at the centre of the Christian Horner scandal is set to be grilled by investigators again this week as part of her appeal process.

In February, the Red Bull team principal, husband of former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell, was cleared after a female employee of the Formula 1 champions accused him of inappropriate behaviour.

The accuser, who has since been suspended on full pay by Red Bull, exercised her right to appeal the outcome of the investigation.

According to The Sun, a new independent barrister has been appointed to handle the matter and the complainant will be re-interviewed ahead of this weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix.

Some reports claim that the reason she was suspended was because she was ‘dishonest’ during the initial probe, though sources close to the complainant sayshe is ‘very upset, angry, scared, intimidated and lonely’.

While the saga had been quiet of late, it has overshadowed the F1 season, not least because of leaked texts and images supposedly related to the probe, as well as the rumours that reigning champion Max Verstappen could leave Red Bull because of the scandal.

There is hope from within the team that when the appeal process is finished the matter will be over for good, with an F1 source telling The Sun: ‘No one wants this to drag on any longer than it needs to.

Horner has been married to Geri Halliwell since 2015 (Photo: Getty)

‘Red Bull has made it clear that once the appeal is over, they are willing to be fully transparent.

‘They don’t want to do anything that compromises the process but when it’s done, the gloves are off.’

Christian Horner investigation – what we know

• Halliwell said to be in ‘floods of tears’ over investigation but will stand by her husband despite warnings of a potential ‘toxic tinge’.

• Horner was cleared of allegations on eve of new F1 season with Red Bull saying: ‘The investigation is complete and the grievance has been dismissed. The complainant has a right of appeal.’
• WhatsApp messages and images supposedly between Horner and the complainant were leaked to the media and F1 personnel – Metro have seen the material but cannot comment on what they detail.
• Horner has met with F1’s CEO and the FIA president following the leaked messages, which have left Halliwell ‘stunned and humiliated’.
• Jos Verstappen, father of Red Bull driver and F1 champion Max, has called for Horner to be sacked, saying team would ‘explode’ if he stayed.
• Jos had a ‘blazing row’ with Horner at the Bahrain Grand Prix and his comments have fuelled speculation that Max could leave Red Bull.
• Tensions are said to be very high at Red Bull between Horner, the owners, the Verstappen and key personnel , but Horner insists the whole team are united and focused solely on racing.
• The female employee has been suspended on full pay by Red Bull and reports suggest she will appeal the outcome of the investigation.

It is unclear how transparent they can be though given both sides have signed confidentially reports, while there has been suggestion that if her appeal fails the complainant will take the case to an employment tribunal, which could lead to the details becoming public.

Moreover, she has separately lodged a complaint against Horner with the sport’s governing body, the FIA.

F1 heads to Shanghai for the first time since 2019, with the last few grand prix cancelled because of the Covid-19 pandemic, and this is also the first Sprint weekend of the season.

After four races Verstappen and teammate Sergio Perez lead the drivers’ championship, with Red Bull top of the constructors’ table by 21 points from Ferrari.

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