F1 NOW:Geri Halliwell and Christian Horner arrive at Bahrain GP ,Horner himself said of the leaks: “I won’t comment on anonymous speculation, but to reiterate, why I have always denied the allegations.

News gist provides live updates from the world of F1 on the day of the 2024 season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix.

It’s Formula One race day for the first time in 2024! The Bahrain Grand Prix officially raises the curtain on the new season today with the imperious world champion Max Verstappen looking to convert his pole position into a win to carry on from where he left off last year.

Amid all the action on the track, there has been plenty of drama off it. Verstappen’s team principal at Red Bull, Christian Horner, has been in most of the headlines over the past few weeks after an investigation into allegations, which he denied, of inappropriate behaviour made against him by a team employee.

Horner was cleared of wrongdoing earlier this week but has since been thrust right back into the spotlight. That is because a series of alleged WhatsApp messages between Horner and his accuser were leaked by an anonymous source.

Horner himself said of the leaks: “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.

“It was a thorough and fair investigation conducted by an independent specialist barrister and it has concluded, dismissing the complaint made.”