Christian Horner reveals 'great lesson' and discusses Geri Halliwell support after F1 scandal

Prior to the first race of the season in Bahrain, an independent investigation carried out by an external specialist barrier cleared Horner.

A new independent KFC then cleared the Red Bull chief for a second time after the woman in question launched an appeal.

The saga caused Horner and his wife, Geri Halliwell, a huge amount of emotional turmoil and cast a cloud over his side's preparations for the current campaign.

He has kept his cards close to his chest in the time since, even after being cleared, while focusing on racing matters.

But Horner, speaking to the Daily Mail, has now expressed a belief he was targeted due to his success.

"What happened at the start of the year felt like a perfect storm," said the 51-year-old, who has been Red Bull Team Principal ever since 2005.

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"In life, it is a great lesson that the more success you have, the more of a target you become.

"Anything that can be used to unsettle and destabilise you and the team and the business.

"What disappointed me more than anything was the steps that people went to in order to try and achieve that.

"You just stay true to yourself and I am very fortunate that I have got a tremendous family.

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"My wife has been unbelievable, fantastic. Your partner is always the one you share your difficulties with. She has been absolutely outstanding and hugely supportive.

"She saw through a lot of things from having an outside perspective and it is good to have that weight and measure.

"It is hugely important. You learn about yourselves in times of difficulty and I was absolutely determined that we would navigate through the difficult waters."

With just three races of the season to go, Max Verstappen looks set to win the F1 Drivers' Championship for the fourth year on the trot.

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This, according to Horner, would be Red Bull's sweetest victory yet - while he's also said he never considered walking away, despite the scrutiny he faced.

"Absolutely," he said when asked if another triumph for Verstappen would be the biggest achievement of Horner's career. "There is so much noise in this paddock, whenever I have crossed that red line as you walk from the paddock into the garage, that’s your safe haven.

"There was a lot of noise and distraction earlier in the year and then the car wasn’t performing and everyone kept their head and worked hard and we got performance on the car in the back end of the year and we have worked our way through it.

"In times of difficulty and when stones are being thrown, it actually galvanises a team. I think there was an element of 'f**k you' from the team this year. Our people were saying 'we are a strong team, no matter what you throw at us, bring it on.'

"I never felt I might have to walk away. I believed in myself. I believed in the process.

"I trusted in the process that was scrupulously applied by the company and I just had to trust to that. When I was on the plane to Bahrain, I didn’t know whether I was going to be at the race or not.

"But I had to believe in the process. I have had tremendous support and backing from the shareholders and from within the company.

"It was actually quite emotional before the first race when I addressed the factory. I do the usual summary of the testing and what the objectives are going into the season and it was absolutely rammed.

‘The support that the team gave me and the reception the team gave me, I will never, ever forget that."