I won't back down... and your chances of a knighthood are GONE: F1 magazine editor who published 19-page Christian Horner bombshell report refuses to bow to threat of legal action from Geri Halliwell's husband

Christian Horner was strongly believed in line for a knighthood before the toxic WhatsApp scandal involving him engulfed Formula One - but the editor who has been threatened with legal action over the publication of a 19-page bombshell report on the storm at Red Bull has suggested that possibility is now 'gone forever'. 

The embattled team principal was cleared of misconduct by an independent investigation called by his team's parent company Red Bull GmbH last Wednesday.

But less than 24 hours later, a tranche of WhatsApps and pictures was circulated anonymously to key figures in the sport purporting to show Horner sending sexually suggestive messages to the female employee at the centre of the probe. 

The 50-year-old has denied he did anything wrong and refused to comment on 'anonymous speculation from unknown sources', but ramped up the fight to clear his name, and is threatening legal action against Tom Rubython, editor-in-chief of Formula One trade magazine Business F1. 

Rubython told Mail Sport that the investigation and subsequent leaked messages allegedly sent by Horner will have a lasting impact on the way the team principal is viewed in the sport, in turn impacting his chances of receiving royal honours. 

Christian Horner is thought to have been in line for a knighthood should he have claimed a fourth consecutive world title with Max Verstappen

Long-term colleague and chief technical officer Adrian Newey was also a Red Bull figure thought to be under consideration for the honour

Last weekend's grand prix weekend saw Horner supported publicly by his wife Geri Halliwell

'He's very proud,' Rubython said of Horner, 'he had the perfect life, and he was in line for a knighthood, if (Red Bull and Max Verstappen) had won a fourth championship. 

'Him and Adrian Newey (Red Bull's chief technical officer) would have both received knighthoods, and that's (in my view) gone forever.

'I just hope Adrian's hasn't been affected by this, Adrian is one of the nicest men in the paddock.'

Horner - who is married to Spice Girl Geri Halliwell - projected a life of endless glamour, from successes on the grid during Verstappen's era of racing dominance, and celebrity. 

Tom Rubython's magazine is subscriber-only

In December, Halliwell threw her husband a surprise 50th birthday party attended by luminaries including Sir Rod Stewart, Ronnie Wood, and Gary Barlow, as well as her ex-bandmate Emma Bunton. 

At the Bahrain Grand Prix last weekend, Halliwell flew to Horner's side to accompany him in the paddock in a show of marital unity, but Rubython suggested that despite impressive efforts, the image of perfection had been shattered. 

'His celebrity lifestyle is gone,' Rubython continued. 'That's what he's lost, that whole scenario of perfection in a life. I can't think of anybody else in celebrity of public life who had such a public perfect life, except for (the end of his relationship) with his previous partner, there was nothing attached to him.'

Rubython stressed that Horner was 'very personable' in his dealings with the press, and that 'whenever we've written stuff about him in the past, he's never held that against us, (he's) been pragmatic.'

But the 19-page article published by Rubython - which names the female employee said to be at the centre of the scandal and adds further detail on the tumult at Red Bull - over the race weekend has prompted a different kind of response from the team principal. 

The editor has received correspondence from Horner's legal representation alleging that Rubython's reporting has been unlawful and defamatory, stating that the article does serious harm to Horner's reputation. 

The article is also alleged to have breached privacy laws by the firm, and they have demanded that Rubython should be taken offline and no longer printed in hard copies. 

'I just don't think the article's defamatory,' Rubython said of the piece, which is behind a paywall for all but the magazine's subscribers. 'We're a trade magazine, we're used to writing these sort of stories. 

'We do this everyday, we know the background, we know all these characters.

Halliwell (centre) threw Horner a surprise 50th birthday last year stuffed with famous faces 

Jos Verstappen over the weekend called for Horner's resignation in the wake of the leaks

His son Max (left) began his title defence in strong form as he clinched the Bahrain Grand Prix

'(So I) wasn't really expecting (to be threatened with legal action). I thought this would be lost in all of the articles from other publications.'

He also added that there had been no criticism of Horner in the reporting, and that the magazine 'hadn't accused him of anything'.  

Rubython suggested that those writing to him on Horner's behalf were 'overwhelmed as well' by the decision to challenge the article, and added that he 'must have spent £10,000 on Sunday with this lawyer'. 

Horner's future as team principal could yet be decided against the backdrop of an internal power struggle within the British constructor, with the Briton reportedly having the backing of Thai majority shareholder Chalerm Yoovidhya. 

The Austrian faction of the Red Bull GmbH led by managing director Oliver Mintzlaff are thought to have cooler relations with the team principal, with Horner also believed to be at odds with Jos Verstappen, father of the team's star driver Max. 

Horner and Verstappen Snr were seen having a heated discussion after Friday's qualifying session ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix, and the latter told Mail Sport that Horner should resign or the team would 'explode'. 

Verstappen Snr and Jnr are both closely aligned with the team's motorsport adviser Dr Helmut Marko, who attended the former's birthday party in Dubai on Monday night. 

Three-time world champion Verstappen is believed to have a break clause in his £50million-a-year contract tied to Marko's future at the constructor, after advocating heavily for his contract extension last season. 

Marko was thought to have felt increasingly sidelined by Horner in the wake of the 2022 passing of the team's founder, Dietrich Mateschitz, which left a significant power vacuum  within the constructor.  

Majority shareholder Chalerm Yoovidhya (right) visited the Red Bull garage on Saturday

Red Bull's motorsport adviser Dr Helmut Marko is closely allied with the Verstappen family

The late Dietrich Mateshitz (pictured in 2008) would have handled the tumult at Red Bull differently, Rubython claims

Mateschitz had an all-important veto say which gave him full oversight of the team, a feature of the role that neither his successors, nor his son Mark, hold. 

Rubython believes that Horner has developed 'a master of the universe complex' that saw him jostling for power during the 2023 season, and argues that under Mateschitz, the unfolding chaos at Red Bull would have looked entirely different. 

'If this had happened under Dietrich Mateschitz, he would have been marched out the door straight away,' Rubython stressed. 'Mateschitz was a superb human being,  but he wouldn't tolerate anybody stepping outside of his own moral code.

'He was a very benevolent boss, but if you pushed him, he would turn into the opposite'.