Zak Brown and Christian Horner — Photo: © IMAGO

Formula 1

McLaren F1 boss reveals thoughts on Red Bull rival's 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 03:00

McLaren supremo Zak Brown has given his thoughts on rival Christian Horner's sacking, having made no secret of the enmity between the pair in the past.

Horner's 20-year run as Red Bull team principal came to an abrupt end earlier this month after a year of off-track turmoil and diminishing results.

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

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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.

Horner v 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.

NASCAR Red Bull Max Verstappen Christian Horner Toto Wolff Zak Brown