F1 boss Christian Horner’s SEXT trial accuser has been suspended after the order came to a breaking point.
The employee has not been at Horner’s Red Bull Racing headquarters since Monday after being told to stay home.
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Red Bull boss Christian Horner in the Paddock ahead of F1 practice today in Saudi Arabia
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Christian Horner with his wife Geri at the Bahrain F1 Grand Prix last weekend
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F1 champion Max Verstappen with boss Horner after winning the opening race last weekend
It comes after a major leak of hundreds of “sexually suggestive” messages from the 50-year-old team boss.
Allegations of inappropriate behavior against Horner were dismissed by an investigation conducted by lawyers.
A source told The Sun today: “It has become apparent that the situation cannot continue and it has been decided that he will be suspended on full pay pending internal investigations.”
Ginger Spice Geri Halliwell, 51, has been left devastated by the scandal that broke out when a series of unsavory messages were posted online ahead of the F1 season opener.
READ MORE ABOUT CHRISTIAN HORNER
The pop icon demonstrated unity at last week’s Bahrain Grand Prix where Red Bull pulled off a perfect 1-2 triumph led by world champion Max Verstappen.
Geri wanted her husband to cut off all contact with his unidentified accuser – but he felt that was not possible as they remained in regular contact at work.
While Geri will be pleased with the outcome, there is no suggestion that her request to “get out of the picture” is what led to the suspension.
He is now reportedly expected to join Christian in Jeddah this weekend ahead of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on Saturday.
Asked about the suspension in today’s Q&A, Horner said the row had been “very difficult” for his family but that his Red Bull team was “focused on the week ahead”.
Speaking at a press conference in Saudi Arabia, the Red Bull boss said it was “time to draw the line” at the claims.
He said: “A lot has been written about this.
“We have to get back to basics. The complaint was raised, fully investigated and dismissed. Let’s move on.”
He added: “I think it’s time to draw a line under that. And focus on what’s going on down the road.”
Frustrations came to a head on Monday after a series of interventions by high-powered lawyers the woman hired to keep her role.
HR chiefs stepped in and suspended her on full pay pending the outcome of an internal investigation into the scandal.
Insiders said she demanded to continue working among the 1,400 staff at the top F1 team’s high-tech headquarters in Milton Keynes, Bucks.
Watch the moment Christian Horner and Max Verstappen’s dad, Jos, had a ‘fierce’ exchange as the team was ‘broken up’ by sext. ok
And she instructed lawyers “every step of the way” as Horner tried to distance himself from her professionally and personally, The Sun was told today.
The source added: “Whenever she thought she was out, her lawyers stepped in.
“Something had to give and now she’s suspended.”
How Christian Horner’s shocking lyrics were leaked
By Ben Hunt
It was an anonymous email sent and designed for maximum impact.
It landed in my inbox almost 24 hours to the minute since Christian Horner was cleared of any wrongdoing following an internal investigation by Red Bull.
Other names included Liberty Media boss Greg Maffei, which owns the rights to F1. FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem and F1 CEO Stefano Dominacali.
F1 team bosses were also included for good measure. Like Max Verstappen’s father, Jos.
It was from an anonymous sender, the title was just the date – ‘February twenty-ninth’.
In it was a link to a Google Drive with 79 files that claimed to be evidence from an independent investigation.
There’s no way of knowing whether they were real or fake, but regardless, it sent another shockwave through the F1 paddock before this season had even started.
Horner was sitting on the team during the second practice session in Bahrain when the email went down.
After the session, he walked out of the team garage and into the hospitality unit where he stayed as the nuclear fallout began.
He survived the outcome of an internal investigation into misconduct following a complaint from a female colleague.
He wonders if he will survive this public humiliation again – again, regardless of whether they were real or fake.
Just hours earlier, McLaren CEO Zak Brown and Mercedes boss Toto Wolff called the sport’s governing body, the FIA, demanding transparency.
“I just read the statement, which was pretty basic,” Wolff said. “My personal opinion is that we can’t really look behind the curtain.
“There is a lady in the organization who talked to HR and said that there is a problem and that it was investigated and yesterday the sport received a message that everything is fine, we have looked into it.
“I believe that with the aspiration to be a global sport, on such critical topics, it needs more transparency and I wonder what is the position of the sport?”
“We are competitors, we are a team and we can have our personal opinion or not. But it is more like a general reaction or action that we as a sport need to evaluate, what is right in that situation and what is not.
“Are we talking with the right moral approach, with values based on the speculation that exists? As a sport, we can’t afford to leave things vague and opaque on critical topics like this, because this will catch us back.”
Brown added: “Ultimately it is the responsibility of the organizers of Formula 1, the owners of Formula 1, to make sure that all the racing teams and the staff and the drivers and everyone else involved in the sport work in a way that we all live by.
“I don’t think it’s about the roles and responsibilities of the teams. It’s up to the FIA and Formula 1 to finally decide and ask what they think gives them the level of transparency they need to ultimately come to a conclusion, and we just have to count on that fulfill that obligation to all of us.”
The emailed dossier will only add to that pressure in the form of scrutinizing Horner – who has always denied the allegations.
It also puts Red Bull in an awkward position.
If the emailed file is legitimate and contains elements from the initial report, which have been thoroughly examined and presented by an independent CC, then this is certainly nothing new to them and their decision to stay with their team leader stands.
The twist that simply now that they went public would likely see criticism that they intended to keep their report private to save face.
Regardless of the outcome, it’s a mess for the world champions. Reports of a conflict between Horner and Verstappen’s father have grown in recent weeks.
So it was interesting that Jos Verstappen was in the paddock wearing a team jacket and seemed indifferent to the chaos going on around him.
The ongoing Red Bull saga has been complicated by behind-the-scenes conflicts between star driver Verstappen’s father, Jos, 51, and Horner.
Insiders said Jos had become close to the woman – but he vehemently denied he was the one who published the text, warning Horner’s team would “explode” if he was not sacked.
Red Bull Racing said today: “The company cannot comment on this internal matter.”
Horner, 50, was seen today in the paddock of Saudi Arabia training ahead of the next race without Geri by his side.
Geri was in the air en route to Bahrain after her husband was freed when the messages were posted online by an anonymous email.
She was apparently “relieved and elated” after the complaint was initially dismissed, but was later left “stunned” by the leaked messages.
Halliwell and Horner have been married since 2015 and have a son.
Tensions are rising within the Red Bull squad after Jos warned the camp could “explode” if Horner stays in his £8million-a-year position.
The two men were seen in what appeared to be a heated argument during the F1 season opener — which saw Red Bull take first and second thanks to Max and team-mate Sergio Perez.
Sky Sports footage showed Horner and Jos seemingly arguing, following reports they had previously clashed in a months-long rift.
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Geri flew to Bahrain last weekend and publicly expressed her support with her husband Horner
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The couple has been married since 2015 and has a son
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Tensions are rising in the Red Bull camp as Jos Verstappen has opened up about Horner’s sexting scandal
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Source: HIS Education