Christian Horner 'to attend Red Bull car launch' but 'won't be drawn' on allegations ahead of new F1 season

This Thursday, Red Bull will launch their new car as they step up preparations for the new F1 season.

And the Daily Mail say Horner will be in attendance in Milton Keynes, with the 50-year-old set to face questions from the media.

However, Horner 'won't be drawn' on questions over the allegations against his name.

Red Bull had wanted the issue to be resolved by now, with the team hoping for another successful year.

Max Verstappen was unstoppable in 2023, winning 19 of the 22 races to secure the F1 Drivers' Championship for the third year on the trot.

Per the report, there are limits on what Horner can say publicly about the investigation for legal reasons.

The saga is set to 'drag on' towards or beyond pre-testing in Bahrain next week, with the first race of the season set to take place in the country on March 2.

Horner has been silent on the allegations to this point.

And his wife Geri Halliwell is standing by her husband, with the Spice Girls star said to believe that Horner 'has done nothing wrong'.

A source has told Closer, however, that the 51-year-old is struggling while the investigation into her husband rumbles on.

The insider is quoted as saying: “Obviously this has been a hellish time for Geri and she’s been in a state of absolute turmoil – trying to hold it together for the kids while quietly crumbling inside.

“The media speculation coupled with all the interrogation and drama going on internally has left her fairy-tale life in tatters and she’s at rock bottom – struggling to eat, barely sleeping and just about functioning as she struggles to deal with it all.”

They added: “The speculation is driving Geri crazy and it’s making her extremely anxious.

“She says she feels like she’s in a living nightmare and is absolutely terrified about how things could unravel.”

Horner attended a secret filming day at Silverstone on Tuesday.

Images show the Red Bull chief with a smile on his face as he went about his work, seemingly doing his best to put the current issue behind him.

Horner has been in charge of racing affairs at Red Bull ever since his appointment in 2005.

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He was a key ally for Sebastian Vettel as the German won four F1 titles on the spin between 2010 and 2013.

And Horner's work has paid off for Verstappen, too, with the 26-year-old securing three crowns in a row.

Most figures in F1 have been silent on the matter regarding Horner and the allegations against him.

But Williams F1 team principal James Vowles has broken rank to discuss the subject by hammering home the importance of diversity.

“The sport itself, wind back 20 years ago, male-dominated without question," he said.

"If you had to ask me what makes up a team, it would be white, more than likely male, more likely 40 years old, something in that ballpark.

“That’s changing and it’s only a positive that’s changing that result. I can only control what happens within Williams.

“And what I can do within the environment is open everyone’s eyes to this is how we have to be, because the best ideas don’t come from being a closed group of individuals, it come from diversity.

“These allegations are allegations, I’m afraid I don’t have any understanding of what is behind them and the significance of what has happened.

“All I can say is that should this ever happen in our guard we’ll be entirely supportive in terms of fixing it and making sure we have a culture that is accepting of everyone...

“Again, I think it means we will have to look each other in the mirror and make sure that we are posing the right questions internally and acting in the way that we can only be proud of, not today but in the next 10 years.”