Geri Halliwell and Christian Horner pictured hand-in-hand amid text scandal

Christian Horner has been pictured with his wife Geri ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Formula One world champion, Max Verstappen, suggested that Horner is "probably a little bit distracted" following the reports.

However Horner himself said that he "won't comment on anonymous speculation" after material alleged to come from Red Bull's investigation was leaked online.

The 50-year-old multi-millionaire was placed under investigation following allegations of inappropriate behaviour towards a female colleague.

He was later cleared.

When Verstappen was asked about the leaked material, he said: "It's not our business.

"When I look at how Christian operates within the team, he has been an incredible team boss, so absolutely from the performance side of things, you can't even question that.

"So that's what I am also dealing with. I speak to Christian a lot, and also of course throughout the weekend here he is fully committed to the team.

"He's also here for the performance, of course probably a little bit distracted, but like I said before, we just focus on the performance things and that's how we all work together."

The leaked material was sent to numerous media organisations and F1 team principals from an anonymous email account, however the messages have not been confirmed as genuine.

Horner responded with a statement, reading: "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 co-operated with it every step of the way.

"It was a thorough and fair investigation conducted by an independent specialist barrister and it has concluded dismissing the complaint made. I remain fully focused on the start of the season."

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