Christian Horner has praised his wife Geri Horner (née Halliwell) for “seeing through a lot of things” amid the inappropriate and controlling behaviour allegations which threatened to destabilise his life earlier this year.
The Red Bull team principal has been embroiled in controversy this season after leaked messages saw a female colleague bring forward claims that led to Horner facing an internal investigation.
Horner was eventually cleared of any wrongdoing by an independent barrister, with the female claimant being suspended on full pay.
At the height of the controversy, Horner’s wife Geri, the former Spice Girl, stood by him by attending the Bahrain Grand Prix where the couple held hands and shared a kiss in front of cameras.
“What happened at the start of the year felt like a perfect storm,” Horner said in an interview with the Daily Mail ahead of the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
“In life, it is a great lesson that the more success you have, the more of a target you become. Anything that can be used to unsettle and destabilise you and the team and the business. What disappointed me more than anything was the steps that people went to in order to try and achieve that.
“You just stay true to yourself and I am very fortunate that I have got a tremendous family. My wife has been unbelievable, fantastic. Your partner is always the one you share your difficulties with. She has been absolutely outstanding and hugely supportive.
“She saw through a lot of things from having an outside perspective and it is good to have that weight and measure. It is hugely important. You learn about yourselves in times of difficulty and I was absolutely determined that we would navigate through the difficult waters.”
Geri had to leave her home under a blanket to avoid photographers as Formula One rivals such as McLaren CEO Zak Brown and Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff called for Horner to be sacked if he was found guilty, and demanded transparency during the investigation. However, Horner told the Mail that, despite the pressure, he did not envisage a situation which saw him leaving his post at Red Bull.
“I never felt I might have to walk away,” he said. “I believed in myself. I believed in the process. I trusted in the process that was scrupulously applied by the company and I just had to trust that. When I was on the plane to Bahrain, I didn’t know whether I was going to be at the race or not.
“But I had to believe in the process. I have had tremendous support and backing from the shareholders and from within the company. It was actually quite emotional before the first race when I addressed the factory. I did the usual summary of the testing and what the objectives are going into the season and it was absolutely rammed.
“The support that the team gave me and the reception the team gave me, I will never, ever forget that. I had a lot of support from within the sport. People like James Matthews at Williams, who made a point of coming to see me in Bahrain, were incredible.”
