Red Bull boss Christian Horner faces fresh calls to go over bombshell text messages leak which is 'driving team apart' - as F1 champ Max Verstappen's father accuses under-fire racing chief of 'playing the victim'

Jos Verstappen accused Mr Horner of 'playing the victim'  and causing tensionMr Horner and wife Geri Halliwell put on show of unity at Saturday's Grand Prix 

Red Bull boss Christian Horner is facing fresh calls to resign amid a row over leaked bombshell text messages.

Jos Verstappen, who manages his world champion son Max, said the ongoing furore was ‘driving the team apart’ and added that there was tension as long as Mr Horner stayed in position.

Verstappen Snr, 51, further accused Mr Horner of ‘playing the victim’ while being the cause of problems, and said the team would ‘explode’ if he refused to stand aside.

Mr Horner saw his side take first and second place at Saturday’s Bahrain Grand Prix, where he was spotted embracing his wife, former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell, who put on a show of unity, despite having allegedly ‘read him the riot act’.

The 50-year-old was cleared by an investigation into alleged inappropriate behaviour by the F1 team’s parent company, Red Bull GmbH, only for new leaked messages to appear 24 hours later.

Red Bull boss Christian Horner is facing fresh calls to quit over leaked messages, after he was spotted embracing his wife Geri Halliwell at Saturday’s Grand Prix in Bahrain

The Red Bull chief insisted he would ‘100 per cent’ still be leading the team at next week’s race in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

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

Horner stands behind his wife as Red Bull celebrate taking first and second place in the inaugural race of the season

Jos Verstappen called on Mr Horner to resign saying that the allegations were ‘driving the team apart’

Verstappen Snr was spotted on ‘multiple occasions’ with Mercedes Formula One team boss Toto Wolff

But Verstappen Snr said that the situation could not ‘continue this way’ and was ‘not good for the team’, the Telegraph reported.

In a further blow to the Red Bull principal, Verstappen Snr was seen on Saturday with the Mercedes F1 team boss Toto Wolff.

The pair were pictured in Bahrain on ‘numerous occasions’ – a sign that a possible move could be being considered.

Mercedes is fresh from losing a huge name, as Lewis Hamilton is set to hit the track with Ferrari from next year.

Mr Wolff was among fierce critics of Red Bull’s parent company’s handling of the investigation and called for ‘greater transparency’ in the probe last week.

Saudi Arabia is set to host the second Formula One race of the season next Saturday.

Just a day after surviving an internal probe into ‘controlling behaviour’, Mr Horner was dealt a fresh blow after 79 screengrabs of WhatsApp messages and images were leaked to journalists and Formula One officials.

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.

Mr Horner was cleared of wrongdoing in an internal investigation on Wednesday, before more WhatsApp messages and images emerged a day later

Red Bull scooped first and second place at the Bahrain Grand Prix

The Red Bull principal refused to be drawn into the new allegations and said he wouldn’t comment on speculation.

After Saturday’s success in Bahrain, he denied his team was divided by the speculation.

He said: ‘You don’t achieve this kind of result by not being united.’

The racing team boss insisted he would  ‘100 per cent’  still be in position when next week’s race kicked off in Jeddah, adding: ‘Yes, absolutely. I wouldn’t be here otherwise.’