Female employee at center of F1 Christian Horner sext scandal suspended by Red Bull
The female employee at the center of the alleged sexting scandal with Formula 1 boss Christian Horner was suspended from her position at Red Bull Racing, according to The Sun.
Horner, who is married to former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell, made headlines last month when alleged text messages showed salacious comments by the principal of the Red Bull F1 team — including asking the female employee what she was wearing.
“It became obvious that the situation could not continue and it was decided to suspend her on full pay while internal inquiries continue,” a source told The Sun.
The woman, whose name has not yet been disclosed, reportedly was told to stay home and has not been at the Red Bull Racing headquarters in Milton Keynes, England since Monday.
The Daily Mail reported that the decision to suspend her was “the direct result” of findings from the investigation.
The news first broke in February, when reports claimed that a Red Bull female employee had made allegations of “inappropriate, controlling behavior” about Horner to the team’s owner, Red Bull GmbH.
Horner, who has fully denied any wrongdoing, was cleared in an independent investigation on Feb 28.
The alleged text messages were leaked on March 1, the eve of the F1 season opener.
“I am not going to comment on anonymous speculation from unknown sources,” Horner said Friday when asked about the alleged messages.
Here's everything we know about Christian Horner's sexting scandal
Christian Horner, the team principal of the Red Bull F1 team, is being accused of “inappropriate, controlling behavior” following leaked allegedly salacious messages between him and a female employee.
Horner, who is married to former Spice Girl Gerri Halliwell, allegedly commented to the female employee that it would be good for her to stretch her legs in response to her stating it would be good for him to do so after a long flight, according to reports.
The leak, which was sent to nearly 200 people in a Google document, included nearly 80 images of screenshots with messages to the woman, including: “I keep thinking about Spanx” and “What’s underneath at the moment?”
Horner also allegedly asked the woman for selfies of her in pajamas, and one message referenced what the Daily Mail described as a “solo sex act.”
The employee reportedly asked Horner to stop and attempted to turn the tables by asking him how he would feel if his wife was doing the same thing with an employee, according to reports.
Red Bull Racing cleared Horner of any violations of misconduct following an internal probe.
“I won’t comment on anonymous speculation, but to reiterate, I have always denied the allegations,” Horner said Thursday in a statement.
The leak included nearly 80 images of screenshots with messages to the woman, including: “I keep thinking about Spanx” and “What’s underneath at the moment?”
The alleged texts were distributed to nearly 200 people in a large Google document to journalists and motor racing bosses, including FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem and F1 chief executive Stefano Domenicali.
“Your wife would not be happy of you asking me for pictures in what I’m wearing,” one alleged message from the woman read.
“I always say would you like Geri doing this to her [personal assistant]?”
Halliwell is reportedly heartbroken and embarrassed over the situation, but showed her support for Horner when she attended last week’s Bahrain Grand Prix, a Red Bull win led by world champ Max Verstappen.
The former Spice Girl was fond of the woman and even vouched for her to work with her husband, according to a separate report by The Daily Mail.
Horner reportedly has asked for the messages to be deleted.
Horner and Halliwell, who tied the knot in 2015, share a 7-year-old son, Monty.
The family lives in an $11.6 million mansion in Oxfordshire.
On Thursday, Horner was seen talking with Red Bull driver Max Verstappen before the team’s first practice ahead of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit on Saturday.
