Christian Horner makes public appearance with wife Geri after landing billionaire backers | F1 | Sport

Christian Horner and his wife Geri Halliwell were cheering for opposite teams as they watched Coventry City take on Watford in a rare public appearance. The former Red Bull team principal remains out of work since he was axed by the F1 giants earlier this year. He is widely expected to return to the paddock at some point and is already said to be eyeing a brand new venture.

Horner, who will be able to work in F1 again from April following his contract settlement, has reportedly been contacted by a series of mega-rich investors. They are said to provide enough backing to fund a £1.5billion purchase of an existing team. There is also a chance that Horner could look to head up his own team, with FIA bosses not opposed to him returning in this manner.

For now, though, the 51-year-old has plenty of free time and is using it to do things he enjoys. Last month, it was reported that he took his wife Geri on a road trip around Scotland that had been in the making for several years.

On Saturday, the couple were spotted in the stands at the Coventry Building Society Arena as the Sky Blues took on Watford. The hosts maintained their promotion charge with a 3-1 victory to leave Horner delighted at the final whistle.

He is known to be a Coventry supporter due to his family roots. His grandfather worked for the Standard Motor Company in the West Midlands and was involved with the club. Geri, meanwhile, supports Watford.

Opening up on his football allegiances last year, Horner told talkSPORT: “My grandad was involved in Coventry City, so we were Sky Blues supporters growing up. I’ll be going along to have a look and support Frank.”

Horner’s old employers, Red Bull, are in action at this weekend’s Mexican Grand Prix, where Max Verstappen will be hoping to boost his title hopes with a second victory in as many races.

The Dutchman is 40 points behind leader Oscar Piastri with five races remaining and he knows that he will need to achieve perfection to claim the end-of-season honours.

Ahead of this weekend’s race in Mexico, he said: “I just want to try and win races till the end of the season. I hope it’s possible every weekend, but it’s impossible to know at the moment.

“We are on a good run, and we also know as a team that it needs to be perfect till the end to have a chance. If it works, great, unbelievable comeback. If it doesn’t work, you just continue.

“You can be proud of the end-of-season performance and the upswing in form, but don’t worry about that in Abu Dhabi.”