Embattled Christian Horner and his wife, Geri Halliwell, engaged in what appeared to be a serious conversation this weekend at the Bahrain Grand Prix amid the Red Bull Formula 1 team principal’s sexting scandal.
In new footage shared Sunday on X by Cihangir Perperik, an F1 accredited journalist, Horner — whose alleged salacious messages to a female employee were leaked online — can be seen sitting at a table next to Halliwell while speaking with who appears to be Italian businessman Flavio Briatore, the former Renault team boss, per the Daily Mail.
Horner, 50, and Halliwell, 51, put on a united front at the Bahrain Grand Prix, where Red Bull’s superstar driver, Max Verstappen, placed first, followed by teammate Sergio Garcia in second.
The couple could be seen embracing following Verstappen’s victory and also held hands while on the track at Bahrain International Circuit.
Despite the smiles displayed by Horner and Halliwell, friends of the couple — who wed in 2015 — have speculated about their future amid the team principal’s messaging scandal, which rocked the sport last week.
One day after being cleared by Red Bull in a workplace misconduct scandal, apparent correspondence from Horner to the female employee was leaked to influential figures in Formula 1, with some comments allegedly centered on Spanx and the woman stretching her legs.
In the wake of the scandal, Halliwell has allegedly “laid down some strict ground rules.”
“One is that Christian cuts or reduces contact with the woman — but that is difficult because of her role at Red Bull,” a source recently told The Sun.
“And she has definitely had her say over what messages he sends. For obvious reasons, Geri would like the female colleague — who she knew before her appointment — to be out of the picture as much as possible.”
Horner has denied the allegations against him.
“I won’t comment on anonymous speculation, but to reiterate, I have always denied the allegations,” Horner said Thursday in a statement.
“I respected the integrity of the independent investigation and fully cooperated with it every step of the way. It was a thorough and fair investigation conducted by an independent specialist barrister and it has concluded, dismissing the complaint made. I remain fully focused on the start of the season.”
The fallout of the controversy continues as Verstappen’s father, Jos, will not attend the upcoming Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in light of comments made about Horner, according to ESPN.
The elder Verstappen, a retired Formula 1 driver, told the Daily Mail, “There is tension here while [Horner] remains in position. The team is in danger of being torn apart.”
The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix begins Saturday in Jeddah.