Christian Horner and Geri Halliwell in united front at Bahrain Grand Prix

Christian Horner and Geri Horner have appeared hand-in-hand at the Bahrain Grand Prix.

The former Spice Girl and the Red Bull Racing principal put on a united front after allegations relating to the leak of hundreds of WhatsApp messages which appeared to be written by him to a female colleague.

The messages came on Thursday, 24 hours after Horner was cleared to continue as Red Bull head following an internal probe into “inappropriate behaviour” by the F1 team’s parent company, Red Bull GmbH.

The 50-year-old has always denied the claims.

They arrived at the circuit holding hands less than two hours before the race started.

The WhatsApp messages were sent from an anonymous email account to 149 members of the F1 paddock and journalists.

Recipients included the president of the sport’s governing body Mohammed ben Sulayem, F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali and the grid’s nine other team principals.

Horner continues to operate in his role as team principal and CEO, but it’s understood there is considerable unease among the team’s plethora of sponsors and partners.

He spoke only once about the latest allegations as he made his way from Red Bull’s hospitality suite to the team’s garage on Friday.

“I am not going to comment on anonymous speculation from unknown sources,” he said.

When asked what comes next, Horner replied: “We go racing.”

The Formula 1 season begins with the Bahrain Grand Prix as Max Verstappen starts on pole position.

But the buildup has been overshadowed by the turmoil surrounding Horner.

He has continued to fight for his Formula One career following a string of allegations against the Red Bull team principal.

On February 5, Red Bull Racing’s parent company GmbH confirmed Horner was under investigation following an accusation of “inappropriate behaviour”.

The company said it “takes these matters extremely seriously and the investigation will be completed as soon as practically possible”.

Horner denied the claim – made by a female colleague – and remained as team principal and CEO of the Milton Keynes-based team. It is understood the complainant also continued in her role.

On the eve of this weekend’s curtain raiser – and 23 days after it emerged Horner was under investigation – Red Bull GmBH said the grievance against the 50-year old had been dismissed.

Twenty-four hours later, a number of messages and images apparently exchanged between Horner and the complainant were sent from an anonymous email account.

Horner released a statement saying: “I will not comment on anonymous speculation, but to reiterate I have always denied the allegations.”

(This story is being updated)