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Red Bull boss, Christian Horner, may have been cleared of ‘inappropriate behaviour’ towards a colleague, but the leaked screenshots of his alleged WhatsApp conversations with a female co-worker would seem to suggest that the storm is far from over.

Christian Horner responded with a ‘firm statement’ after the alleged WhatsApp messages from the Red Bull F1 boss were leaked on Thursday on Reddit. Most of the Reddit posts have since been removed, but as everyone knows, the internet is forever, and the screenshots are still easily accessible in their archives.

The team principal was cleared of the alleged “inappropriate behaviour” on Wednesday after a three-week internal probe conducted by an external lawyer, following allegations from a female colleague which Horner strongly refuted.

However, just 24 hours later, WhatsApp texts and pictures were leaked from an anonymous source, allegedly showing conversations between Horner and the complainant.

If these screenshots are indeed authentic, the court of public opinion may very well struggle to swallow the ‘not guilty’ verdict.

Horner has responded to the latest development with a short statement: “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”.

Officially, Horner might have been cleared, but the stench of a scandal is likely to overpower the smell of rubber in the Red Bull paddock, so who knows how this will affect morale among the F1 team. Their rivals at Mercedes, and especially Toto Wolf, must be licking their chops at the prospect of a ‘vibe’ at Red Bull.

Warner’s wife, Spice Girl Gerri Halliwell, must surely also have seen the published messages already, so the trouble at home is likely not as easily shrugged off as at F1.

There’s an interesting moment during the newest season of Drive To Survive which shows Warner and the family meeting ‘Santa’ in their living room. As the kids gather around, Santa asks if Daddy’s been a good boy this year, and we might be reading too much into it, but for a moment Warner glances toward his wife. It’s a moment and a glance that, in hindsight, tells you Daddy might not have been too good in 2023.

From what we’ve seen, it does leave one with the impression that whoever was chatting it up was already way closer than just colleagues. It’s all very borderline sexting, with innuendos everywhere.

But as we said, leaked screenshots on the internet are not proof, but you can find them on Reddit if you’re curious.

We are still undecided about which nickname has a better ring to it: Horny Horner, or Christian Horny. Or Honest Horner.

[source:reddit&independent]