Less than a day after Formula 1 Red Bull Racing said it had resolved allegations of misconduct against team principal Christian Horner involving a team employee, a file purportedly containing potentially incriminating evidence against Horner has been leaked into more than 200 e -mail, including numerous media outlets, Liberty Media, F1, the FIA and the sport’s nine other leading teams, AP reported.
The 79 documents, which were examined by Fortune, consisted primarily of screenshots of alleged WhatsApp message exchanges that appear to occur between Horner and another person. The messages include images of meals and snacks, nude photos of an unidentified man, suggestive exchanges and what appear to be images of Horner in multiple different outfits, including a jacket and pageboy cap.
In one exchange, the sender tells the recipient of the message that he can work from home after leaving his laptop at the factory. In another, the sender and the other party appear to be keeping the meeting plans a secret from someone called “Geri.” Horner’s wife is former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell. There are multiple messages asking the recipient of the message to delete their WhatsApp message history, as well as a message from the other party asking the sender to “stop” after sending messages that appear to have subsequently been deleted.
Fortune did not verify the authenticity of the files; neither ESPN nor the AP, which previously reported the collection of messages and images sent from a generic email account. Horner again denied inappropriate behavior after the alleged messages leaked.
“I will not comment on anonymous speculation, but I repeat, I have always denied the allegations,” Horner said in a statement read to reporters by a team spokesperson, via AP. “I respected the integrity of the independent investigation and cooperated fully every step of the way. This was a thorough and fair investigation conducted by an independent specialist lawyer and which concluded by rejecting the complaint lodged. I remain completely focused on the start of the season.”
Red Bull Racing did not respond Fortunerequest for comment.
Red Bull launched an internal investigation on February 5 after a Dutch newspaper reported the Telegraph reported allegations of “inappropriate behavior” against Horner, who denied the allegations. Horner was cleared of misconduct and an employee’s complaints were dismissed.
F1 and Red Bull Racing have a history of turning a blind eye to inappropriate and even violent behavior from the sport’s big names. Former F1 driver Jos Verstappen, father of reigning champion Max Verstappen, was convicted of assault in 2000 after fracturing a victim’s skull in 1998. He raced in F1 from 1994 to 2003 and makes frequent appearances in the garage Red Bull during race weekends. Over a decade later, former driver Adrian Sutil was convicted in 2012 of causing grievous bodily harm, and although he did not have a racing seat that season, he returned to the sport and drove for Force India the year following.
The files were released while Horner was attending a practice event for the first F1 race of 2024, which is due to begin less than 36 hours from the time of publication. The event attracted more than 1.3 million spectators in 2023, part of the sport’s explosion in popularity in the United States in recent years. According to Sportico, F1 has an enterprise value of $18.6 billion, including debt. Its growth is partly thanks to Netflix’s hit docuseries Drive to survive, in which Horner is a main character. Red Bull is considered the marquee team this season after winning decisive consecutive team championships. Top driver Verstappen won three consecutive drivers’ championships for the team.
Horner has played an instrumental role in Red Bull’s success and has been at the helm of the team since its inception in 2005, when the energy drinks company bought the team from Jaguar as part of its bid to build a sporting empire and, in ultimately, generate beverage sales. In its first ten years in F1, Red Bull invested $1.2 billion in its namesake team, which is now valued at $2.6 billion and has estimated revenue of $510 million in 2023, according to Forbes. Horner is the longest-serving team principal in the F1 paddock.
Red Bull has won six constructors’ titles, seven drivers’ titles and over 100 Grands Prix. It further extended its presence in F1 in 2005 when it purchased a second team, now called Visa CashApp RB, which generated an additional $260 million in revenue in 2023. The team also owes its accolades in part to the Global Chief Technical Officer Adrian Newey, who led the design efforts of all of Red Bull’s championship-winning cars. According to Sports Illustrated, Newey and Horner have a mutual protection clause in their respective contracts, linking their fates in the event one leaves the team.
The team’s success in F1 has, in the company’s words, paid off its marketing gamble. In November, Horner said Red Bull Racing’s success was related to energy drink sales, calling the team “the biggest marketing impact the beverage company has.” The drink holds 13% of the global energy drink market share.
“They see it, they can measure it. It’s amazing the amount of Red Bull consumption that’s happening,” Horner told CNBC.