FORMULA ONE chief Mohammed Ben Sulayem has broken his silence after his showdown with Christian Horner.
The FIA president sat down for crunch talks with Horner on Friday amid the Red Bull team principal’s sext scandal.
GettyChristian Horner met with FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem for talks on Friday[/caption]
GettyThe Red Bull boss arrived at the Bahrain International Circuit on his own[/caption]
GettyHorner’s wife Geri Halliwell, pictured together in 2023, is in Bahrain[/caption]
Horner was cleared in an internal investigation of any wrongdoing towards a female staffer on Wednesday.
But 24 hours later, a vast trove of intimate texts between the Red Bull chief and a female colleague were leaked, initially to F1 bosses and media outlets.
Then on Friday, Horner met with Ben Sulayem on the day before the new 2024 season gets underway in Bahrain.
And now the Emirati ex-rally driver has admitted the Horner saga is having a negative impact which is overshadowing the sport.
Ben Sulayem told the Financial Times: “It’s damaging the sport.
“This is damaging on a human level.”
He also added that the FIA are not planning to investigate Horner at this stage as there has been no official complaint to the organisation.
Horner has denied any wrongdoing and refuses to comment on the allegations.
He was spotted smiling as he arrived alone for the curtain-raising Grand Prix on Saturday morning where his driver Max Verstappen starts on pole.
The 50-year-old was also seen pacing around the paddock and hospitality area at the circuit, stopping to check his phone and sign autographs for children.
Horner’s wife Geri Halliwell was left “heartbroken and humiliated” after hundreds of sexts sent by her hubby to a female employee were leaked.
The Spice Girl, 51, touched down in Bahrain on Thursday night just as the bombshell messages began to spread around the globe.
Geri reportedly refused to see her husband after his sext leak but was talked into it by his family.
Some of the grubby messages were reported, including a request for a “Santa PJ selfie”.
It comes as
Geri Halliwell’s marriage to Christian Horner is said to be “in question” following the sext leak
The Spice Girl is said to have “felt like a fool” after Horner played down sexting claims
Geri was “left humiliated” as she faces the “worst PR crisis of her career”
A mole close to the Red Bull Racing camp allegedly detonated the Christian Horner sexting scandal in a bid to oust the F1 team boss
The Red Bull Racing boss was cleared of sending improper texts to a female employee a day before the bombshell leak
He also regularly joked about Spanx, telling the woman she looks “attractive” in them.
In another, Horner starts by asking if he can make a “confession”.
He then describes a trip on a private jet to Dubai where he claims that the woman got him “out of control”.
The Sun learned that Geri knew of the female employee at the centre of the texting scandal.
A Red Bull insider said she even approved of the woman working in Horner’s team.
It comes after a mole close to the Red Bull Racing camp allegedly detonated the Christian Horner sexting scandal in a bid to oust the F1 team boss, The Sun revealed.
PAHe will hope to put his sext saga aside for the opening Grand Prix[/caption]
AlamyThe couple were out in public together at the horses last month[/caption]
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