Christian Horner addresses past misconduct allegations in new interview

The allegations surrounding Christian Horner's final months at Red Bull Racing still draw questions from fans despite him being cleared of any wrongdoing. Now, 15 months after his exit from the team, Horner has finally broken his silence on that time.

Sitting down with 60 Minutes Australia, the former team principal addressed the allegations with uncompromising defiance.

In December 2023, a female employee lodged a formal grievance against Horner regarding inappropriate and controlling behaviour. Following a massive independent investigation by an external specialist barrister, Red Bull GmbH officially cleared Horner of any wrongdoing on 28 February 2024.

The story did not end there. Barely 24 hours after he was cleared, an anonymous email containing a file of 79 alleged WhatsApp screenshots between Horner and the complainant was leaked to hundreds of F1 journalists, team principals and FIA executives.

Christian Horner, Team Principal, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

Horner maintains a hardline stance on his innocence.

"Look, I deny any accusations that have been made against me," Horner stated firmly during the broadcast.

Following the initial clearance, the complainant lodged a formal appeal, which triggered a secondary investigation. On 8 August 2024, Red Bull GmbH announced that a second independent lawyer had also dismissed the appeal, fully exonerating Horner for a second time.

When asked if he had any regrets or wished he had handled the turbulent period differently, Horner did not flinch.

"I think probably enough has been written and said about it... for me it's about looking forward rather than backwards now," Horner said. "So no regrets. Look, I think, as I say, I followed the process; I believed in the process; it was dismissed twice. You move, you know, you focus on the next challenges in your life, your career, and obviously the priorities of your family."

Throughout the ordeal, Horner presented a united front with his wife, former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell, most notably walking hand-in-hand down the paddock at the 2024 Bahrain Grand Prix immediately after the anonymous leak hit the press.

Looking back, Horner attributes much of the sensationalism surrounding that time to his high-profile marriage and his outsized celebrity status fuelled by Netflix's Drive to Survive.

Geri Halliwell, Christian Horner, Red Bull Racing, Drive to Survive Season 7

"Obviously as a public person, as a public couple, inevitably there was going to be media attention around it... of which there was significant in that period," Horner admitted. "Suddenly you go from the back pages to the front pages... [marrying a Spice Girl] didn't help. Suddenly that then turbocharged it."

Red Bull ultimately dropped Horner in July 2025 following a string of internal power struggles and a dip in track performance, but a return to the paddock is still expected in one way or another.

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- The Motorsport.com Team