Just weeks after the woman who accused him of coercive behaviour was mysteriously released from her latest role in motor racing, a staggering detail about Christian Horner's departure from his Formula One team has come to light.
It's been revealed the husband of former Spice Girls singer Geri Halliwell was handed an astonishing payout by Red Bull Racing.
Halliwell, 54, has publicly stood by Horner throughout the turmoil and the couple, who have three children, continue to split their time between their homes in Oxfordshire and London.
Documents filed this week at Companies House disclose that Horner, 52, who quit following a texting scandal with a colleague, banked £33.5million.
The payment is disclosed in the small print of Red Bull Racing's latest accounts for last year and is reported as 'compensation for loss of office'.
His total takings, including the £4.4million in salary paid ahead of his resignation, come in at £38million – the equivalent of £729,000 per week.
Geri Halliwell and Christian Horner pictured in June last year. The former CEO of Red Bull Formula One has received a bumper payout
The poignant moment former Red Bull team principal Horner broke the news of his sacking to his Spice Girl wife
Horner has always denied the claims and was twice cleared of any impropriety in internal investigations at Red Bull, despite a tranche of supposedly intimate text exchanges between the pair being made public in an explosive email sent to F1 figures before the 2024 Bahrain Grand Prix.
In August, little more than a year on from Christian Horner leaving his £12million-a-season job as team principal of Red Bull, it was revealed the woman who accused him of coercive behaviour had been mysteriously released from her latest role in motor racing.
A source told Daily Mail Sport that she was informed her services were no longer required moments before her scheduled flight to Budapest, a race won by McLaren's British world champion Lando Norris.
Her then employers, who can also not be named, said: 'We do not comment on personnel matters.'
It is understood her latest position was terminated after her new boss, with whom she worked closely, lost confidence in her 'for a lack of discretion'.
In one of Formula One's most high-profile controversies, Horner was accused of controlling behaviour over the employee.
Horner oversaw eight drivers' titles at Red Bull, including four in a row with Max Verstappen
Seventy-nine screenshots of WhatsApp chats between Horner and the female then colleague were leaked in an explosive email sent to F1 figures ahead of the 2024 Bahrain Grand Prix.
Halliwell has resolutely and publicly stood by Horner throughout the turmoil.
Horner lost his job following last year's British Grand Prix in a power struggle within the Austrian-based team he led to eight drivers' and six constructors' titles in two phases over 20 years through Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen.
Horner received an £80million package on leaving.
The woman who made her accusations remained at Red Bull for several months as the saga unfolded before receiving a payout of some £3million.
There have been growing rumours that Horner will make a sensational return to F1.
He is also reportedly looking for an opportunity where he can have an ownership stake in any team.
A week ago Lewis Hamilton, the seven-time world champion, backed his beleaguered team principal Fred Vasseur as the ‘right guy’ to lead Ferrari amid speculation that Horner might take over.
Hamilton did not elaborate on what changes he wanted to see but his comments were hardly an overwhelming vote of confidence in the organisation he joined last season on £80million a year in search of his eighth world title.
It followed an unprecedented media conference on Tuesday in which Ferrari’s communications director Maria Conti issued a vote of confidence in Vasseur after Horner expressed his respect for the team in a recent interview.
Vasseur moved to Ferrari in 2023 but has failed to deliver championship success, with their disappointing result at last month’s Italian Grand Prix – in which Hamilton and team-mate Charles Leclerc crashed into each other – representing a major dent in his standing.
Lewis Hamilton appeared to make a cryptic demand that Ferrari change the team’s hierarchy
Hamilton referenced the structure at his previous employer Mercedes when he said: ‘There are changes that I would make, but I am not going to talk about what those are. Toto (Wolff) is in a different position (at Mercedes, where he owns the team) from Fred (an employee). The structure is a lot different.
‘And that’s all I want to say about it really. Structure is very important and so is stability and everyone rowing in the same direction is key in any business.
‘Fred has my full backing. You would have to ask Fred what the backing does for him. I don’t know how much it changes things.
‘There often seems to be a lot of focus on one individual and one role here.
‘Fred is a fantastic leader, and he really is the guy to take this team in the right direction.
‘However, there is a structure that has been there for some time and whether or not that needs looking at moving forwards? There are people above Fred, and it is not about one person.