F1 will ‘move on’ from Christian Horner in blunt Zak Brown assessment

McLaren boss Zak Brown didn’t hold back in a scathing assessment of Christian Horner’s shock sacking from Red Bull Racing.

According to the McLaren Racing CEO, the F1 world will “move on,” and new Red Bull boss Laurent Mekies is “very good.”

Zak Brown delivers scathing Christian Horner response

In the world of Formula 1, no break in racing is ever quiet — and at the very start of a three-week off period between the British and Belgian grands prix came news that long-serving Red Bull Racing CEO and team principal Christian Horner would depart the team with immediate effect.

It was a shocking move; while major drivers like Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen have brought prestige and success to the team, Horner has been with Red Bull since its inception as its spokesperson and leader.

The decision to sack him after six Constructors’ Championships and eight Drivers’ Championships partway through F1 2025 seemed particularly odd.

Though the Milton Keynes team hasn’t explained why it swung the axe, replacing Horner with Racing Bulls team principal Laurent Mekies, but the writing has been on the wall.

From allegations of inappropriate conduct with a female employee to the dramatic loss of the F1 2024 Constructors’ title, to the struggles of the current RB21, and threat of Max Verstappen leaving the team. Something had to give.

Analysis from the Belgian Grand Prix:

👉 Belgian GP conclusions: Verstappen’s goodbye kiss, Hamilton’s uncomfortable truth, Piastri’s zone

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Speaking to Sky F1 after the Belgian Grand Prix, McLaren Racing CEO Brown was asked for his perspective on losing out on one of his major rivals — and whether or not he was sad to see Horner go.

“Competition makes you stronger, so from that sense, they keep you on your toes,” Brown replied. “I think Laurent’s very good.”

But he also delivered a scathing assessment of the news cycle’s longevity, even regarding the Horner situation.

“As you know, the sport moves on quickly, so it probably won’t be something that we’re talking about come Monday,” Brown said.

“And it’s a great racing team, so we gotta pay attention. I was telling someone this morning, even the worst team in Formula 1 right now is really good, so I think all this competition makes you better.

“[Horner] had fantastic results. It’s a shame to kind of go out the way he did.”

Brown has been no stranger to sharing his thoughts about Horner and Red Bull Racing in the past.

Speaking to Canadian news channel TSN ahead of IndyCar’s street race in Toronto, he admitted that he was surprised by the timing of the Horner sacking, “but not the result.”

“I think 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 getting worse.

“So, I’m not surprised, anytime in the middle of the season. But we’re head down on our championship. They’ve got Max still knocking on the door, so we’ve got to pay attention to that. But, yeah, tremendous amount of success they’ve had.”

And in an interview with the Telegraph ahead of the F1 2025 season Brown termed his beef with Horner as “genuine” and not just something played up for Netflix cameras or Drive to Survive.

“There’s no love lost there,” Brown said at the time. “I don’t like how he rolls and no doubt he feels the same about me.

“But I think it’s good for the sport. You need different characters. You need these rivalries. Some are friendly, sporting rivalries. Some are a bit more vicious. It’s always been like that.”

Without Horner on the grid, one of Brown’s major adversaries has departed — but the on-track battles between McLaren and Red Bull are sure to continue.

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