Bitter F1 rival takes swipe at Christian Horner after Red Bull sacking

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Bitter F1 rival takes swipe at Christian Horner after Red Bull sacking

Christian Horner was sacked by Red Bull earlier this month

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Tuesday 22 July 2025 11:57

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McLaren CEO Zak Brown has taken a swipe at his bitter rival Christian Horner, after the ex-Red Bull F1 team principal was axed by his team.

Horner was sacked after 20 years in the role earlier this month, being replaced by former Racing Bulls team principal Laurent Mekies after a period of poor results for the Milton Keynes-based outfit.

The team are currently sat down in fourth in the constructors' championship and have had four different drivers in the last seven months occupy their two seats.

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Star driver Max Verstappen's future with the team beyond the end of this season is in doubt, after Mercedes boss Toto Wolff revealed talks had taken place with the four-time world champion.

On top of the driver uncertainty, Horner is the latest in a long line of senior personnel that have left the team in the last 18 months, with Adrian Newey, Jonathan Wheatley and Will Courtenay all ditching the Milton Keynes-based outfit for a different team.

And Horner's nemesis Brown has further stuck the boot into his former rival, telling Canadian television channel TSN: "I'm maybe [surprised by] the timing, but not the result.

"There's been a lot of drama there the last couple of years and it doesn't seem like that drama has been calming down - maybe been getting worse. So I'm not surprised."

Zak Brown and Christian Horner shared a tumultuous relationship

Horner vs Brown

While Toto Wolff and Horner's rivalry in the sport lasted for most of the last decade, Brown and Horner's was arguably more feisty in the last couple of years.

Brown was very vocal about accusations of alleged inappropriate behaviour that were levelled against Horner at the beginning of 2024 - allegations Horner was cleared of - and this was documented during season seven of Netflix's Drive to Survive, where Horner was heard calling Brown a 'p****'.

Earlier this year, Brown drank from a bottle labelled 'tyre water', which was a reference to Horner complaining to the FIA about McLaren allegedly using water to cool their tyres.

No evidence of wrongdoing was found by the FIA, and Brown used the water bottle at the Miami Grand Prix to try and rile up his rival.

In the end, Brown has had the last laugh, with his team currently sat atop the constructors' championship, dominating the rest of the field, and Horner being sacked with his team down in fourth.

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