After an unexpected podium finish in 2006, Christian Horner, Red Bull's Formula One team boss, jumped naked into a swimming pool under a Superman cape.
The joyous leap was to fulfill a bet (he didn't believe the team could do so well) and his colleagues cheered him on that May Day in Monaco.
The 32-year-old prodigy had only been hired by a billionaire to head the new Formula 1 team the year before. With his willingness to fight and an almost pathological competitive drive – he describes winning as “like an addiction” – Horner took Red Bull to its peak.
Last year, Red Bull won 21 of the year's 22 races – the most dominant season of any team in Formula 1 history.
Given this success, one could assume that Red Bull's joy is boundless at the moment.
Christian and Geri Horner at the 2017 Bahrain Grand Prix
Back row from left: Ronnie and Sally Wood, Christian Horner, Gary Barlow, Rod Stewart and wife Penny at Christian's 50th birthday party in November. Front row from left: Emma Bunton and Geri
However, this week in Bahrain – soon to host the first Grand Prix of the season – it's all about which of his many enemies might try to topple Horner, who earns £8million a year.
He is currently under investigation because he is accused of inappropriate behavior towards an employee – allegations which he vigorously denies.
There is apparently no shortage of bad blood between Horner and some factions at Red Bull, not least the unscrupulous former driver Helmut Marko, the Salzburg-based director of the Red Bull Formula 1 team.
Amazingly, Red Bull's £70million champion driver, 26-year-old Max Verstappen, is also there, managed by his manager father Jos, a former driver.
Everyone is now wondering who will replace Horner in the team if an investigation comes out against him.
A well-informed source says the game is likely open to Horner even if he survives the investigation. “How can he continue with such fault lines?” he says.
It's a miserable turn of events for Horner. “It looks worn and worn,” says a colleague.
It seems that Horner – aggressive and cocky by reputation – was truly humiliated.
“Horner never learned restraint, never discovered the reasonable limits of power, and often lashed out at people who couldn’t defend themselves,” lamented sportswriter Matthew Syed this week. So this is a reckoning.
Looking tired, with bitten nails and unusual pallor, Horner said on Thursday: “It's business as usual.” There is obviously a process going on. I completely deny all the allegations that have been made against me, but of course I will cooperate with this process, which I hope will be completed in the near future.”
So far it's been an extraordinary story, which, according to a leak, involves a cache of sexually suggestive WhatsApp messages that Horner allegedly sent to a colleague.
When the news broke on February 6, it simply said that he had been accused of “incredibly controlling behavior” by a colleague. He strenuously denied this and appeared relaxed at a media event when he said he had a “very supportive wife” in former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell who was by his side.
But that was before the surprising development two weeks later, when De Telegraaf, a Dutch newspaper, said the allegations had a sexual component.
The newspaper claimed to have seen several WhatsApp messages between Horner and a colleague dating back several years. The source of the leak has caused a stir: Red Bull's star driver Max Verstappen is Dutch, as is his influential father Jos.
Their nationality was enough to spark rumors – perhaps completely unfounded – about a connection between the Verstappens, the Dutch newspaper that leaked the allegations, and Horner's “unfairly treated” colleague. The newspaper also claimed that Horner had offered to settle the matter with her for £650,000. He denies this through his lawyers.
Meanwhile, further claims are circulating that Horner's colleague at Red Bull was seen getting cozy with the Verstappens at a Red Bull party on a yacht in Abu Dhabi in November 2021.
Geri with Christian through the city
Geri in her home in the Cotswolds, where she has built an idyllic country life
But on the night in question they were all celebrating a victory, so why wouldn't they be very friendly with each other?
Others point to the sudden departure from Red Bull of another woman who was friends with the colleague who allegedly accused Horner, and say her departure may have something to do with the scandal.
No wonder the atmosphere is feverish in Milton Keynes, where Horner oversees a workforce of 1,500 and parks his £650,000 historic Aston Martin DB5 in a prominent reserved space.
Many there believe that Horner is the victim of an internal dispute within the Austrian Red Bull family. He was protected by his founder Dietrich Mateschitz, but his mentor died in 2022 at the age of 78, leaving Horner politically exposed.
Some in the company apparently believe that control of the racing arm should return to Salzburg, the home of the soft drinks company.
Horner spent almost nine hours last Friday in the offices of a Red Bull-contracted KC in central London investigating the allegations. When the KC will report is controversial. Everyone is eager for this to happen before the Bahrain Grand Prix next Saturday.
In the meantime, both Horner and Max Verstappen appear to be continuing their friendly collaboration. They both had the right words about how well they get along at a press conference last week.
Sources assume that the real conflict lies between Verstappen Senior and Horner – a difficult situation.
It is perhaps unfortunate that Horner's wife Geri Verstappen “unfollowed” on Instagram shortly after the De Telegraaf story was published. After the unfollowing became public, Geri quickly followed Verstappen again. . . and David and Victoria Beckham, whom she also rejected. It's not clear what the Beckhams did to be drawn into the scandal.
(Geri's publicist claims — despite screenshots that appear to show the opposite — that it is “wrong” to say Geri unfollowed someone.)
Everyone feels for Geri, who was 41 when she started dating Horner and 42 when they married. They now have a seven-year-old son, Monty.
Before the scandal broke, she told a magazine: “I was a late developer.” “I'm incredibly grateful to be in a really loving relationship.”
A friend told the Mail: “Geri has worked very hard to get this marriage – there's no way she's giving it up.” She always said she was determined to find her prince and she felt she was had done with Christian.'
Geri certainly experienced some romantic disappointments, perhaps most notably with British screenwriter Sacha Gervasi, the father of her 17-year-old daughter Bluebell Madonna. Their romance ended before the baby was born and it is said he first met her in the pages of Hello! seen. Magazine.
With her husband and children, Geri has built an idyllic country life on their property in the Cotswolds. She is now 51 years old, goes by the name Halliwell-Horner and is completely committed to Christianity. As the Mail revealed earlier this month, the Wi-Fi password in her home is actually “Wonderful Husband.”
Now she stands firmly by him, but the scandal – especially since the alleged recipient was a colleague she knew well – and the alleged nature of the messages have “flattened” her.
A friend said this week: “Geri is devastated and is having difficulty eating and sleeping.” Her family and fellow Spice Girls are worried about her.
“I heard that Christian is trying to encourage her to stay positive, but she's stayed down in the same way she did after she left the Spice Girls. 'She doesn't talk to anyone.'
The source believes that Geri may skip the trip to Bahrain for the Grand Prix as she cannot face the test.
She is supported by her Spanish mother Ana Maria and sister Natalie, but there are “few” other friends she can call. Meanwhile, she tries her best to help her husband, whom she adores.
“I think she’s involved in all the lawyers’ calls,” says a source. “Christian told her everything is fine and will be okay – but she just wants it to go away.”
“It's a real problem because she's completely focused on him.” She's completely loyal to him; that remains.'
That may be so, but friends say Geri is still “ashamed and angry” at Christian for humiliating her.
What deeply worries her is that the shiny facade of their relationship has been tarnished after years of organizing a public relations campaign to get the public back on his side after he left his long-term partner, with whom he has a young daughter had. To be with her in 2015.
“When they first started, they had so much negative press because Geri was portrayed as a home wrecker,” the friend says.
“But they worked very, very hard to make this turnaround and change their perception.”
“Geri was extremely careful with her image, trying so hard to shake off her brassy ginger spice past and transform herself into a wholesome Oxfordshire housewife.”
“This aspect is absolutely devastating for her, but will her marriage end?” Probably not. Behind closed doors, she doesn't let him forget it; but everything will be fine for the outside world.'
Christian is supposed to “cling on” to Geri “for dear life.” Why? Because while no one doubts that he loves his wife, friends say he is also “blinded” by her celebrity contacts.
Those who know him say he “absolutely loved” the celebrities at the 50th birthday party Geri threw for him last year, which was attended by the likes of Sir Rod Stewart, Ronnie Wood and Gary Barlow.
Christian is also said to be “enjoying” Geri’s connection to David and Victoria Beckham.
“He won’t want to lose this – he’ll fight to keep it,” the friend says.
Currently, her husband's accuser continues her duties at the company's headquarters in Milton Keynes, which must create a torturous atmosphere.
But the sharks are circling. Horner's rival at Mercedes, Toto Wolff, gave a little pious speech this week about the importance of role models in Formula 1.
He said: “We stand for inclusion, equality, fairness and diversity.” It's about living it day by day. And that is the standard we set for ourselves.
“We are a global sport – one of the most important sports platforms in the world.” And we are role models.”
Of course, the fact that he and Horner cheerfully loathe each other and spend their professional lives accusing each other of cheating has nothing to do with it.
It is unclear when the Red Bull investigation will be completed, but it is believed it will be before the race in Bahrain next week. Liberty Media, which owns F1, wants it to end sooner rather than later.
Where the chips will ultimately end up is far from clear. Some publications suggest a sensational scenario in which Horner could move to Ferrari, where he would join Lewis Hamilton. That would be a crowning irony given their long and bitter rivalry.
He can, of course, choose to give up the sport altogether. In a recent interview, he said that he would enjoy working as a real estate developer.
What is clear is that he will have Geri by his side, no matter what the storm may be like.