Christian Horner vowed to go racing after being hit with further allegations of inappropriate behaviour.
The Red Bull team principal’s Formula One future is again under question after hundreds of WhatsApp messages appearing to be written by him to a female colleague were leaked.
Horner, who is married to Spice Girl Geri Horner, was cleared of wrongdoing on Wednesday after an internal investigation by the F1 team’s parent company, Red Bull GmbH, which followed complaints about his behaviour by a female colleague. He has always denied the claims.
But just 24 hours later, a number of messages and images apparently exchanged between Horner and the complainant were sent from an anonymous email account to 149 members of the F1 paddock, including FIA president Mohammed ben Sulayem and F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali, as well as members of the media..
Horner said: “I won’t comment on anonymous speculation. But, to reiterate, I have always denied the allegations. I respected the integrity of the independent investigation and fully cooperated with it every step of the way.”
A spokesperson for Red Bull GmbH, the parent company of the F1 team, said on Thursday: “This is a private matter between Mr Horner and another and it would be inappropriate for Red Bull to comment on this.”
They also declined to reveal any information about the internal investigation.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff and McLaren boss Zak Brown called for more transparency from Red Bull on the investigation.
The FIA, the sports governing body, have been made aware of the leak and is discussing the matter with F1 management.
Horner is set to be in the Paddock for the Bahrain Grand prix tomorrow as Red Hull look to win another Constructors championship.
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