McLaren boss Zak Brown has launched a remarkable attack on long-time adversary Christian Horner, accusing the former Red Bull team principal of becoming “arrogant” and claiming the Netflix Drive to Survive spotlight has fundamentally changed him.
Brown and Horner’s rivalry stretches back more than three decades to their days scrapping wheel-to-wheel in Formula Three, but tensions between the pair have escalated dramatically in recent years as McLaren and Red Bull battled for supremacy both on and off the track.
Their increasingly bitter exchanges became a fixture in the F1 paddock, with Brown admitting earlier this year that things had “gone too far”.
Speaking to The Telegraph, the American insisted Horner is to blame for the toxic atmosphere that developed, suggesting fame and fortune had transformed the 50-year-old during Red Bull’s dominant era.
“I’ve known Christian for 30-plus years,” Brown said.
“We used to get on. His results are amazing, hats off. But he’s changed. I think the Drive to Survive fame, the money, the glory, all got a bit much.”
Asked whether Horner “plays fair”, Brown made his feelings crystal clear.
F1 facts fans might not know | GETTY/GBNEWS
McLaren boss Zak Brown has launched a remarkable attack on long-time adversary Christian Horner, accusing the former Red Bull team principal of becoming “arrogant” and claiming the Netflix Drive to Survive spotlight has fundamentally changed him
|PA
“At times, no. Back when I was racing, you had drivers who’d push hard, put you two wheels off the track," he added.
"That’s OK. Then there are drivers who push you four wheels off. That’s not OK. I’m a two-wheels-off guy. Christian is a four-wheels-off guy.”
Brown also highlighted what he considered a blatant example of Horner “fighting dirty”, citing the former Red Bull boss’s formal complaint late in the 2024 season, when he alleged McLaren had been injecting water into their tyres to gain an advantage.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
Zak Brown pictured shaking Christian Horner's hand earlier this year
|PA
“He made allegations towards our team. I can’t imagine he believed them. It was simply intended to disrupt us,” Brown said.
“Regardless of legality, everyone in the sport knows you wouldn’t do that for technical reasons.”
An FIA investigation cleared McLaren of any wrongdoing.
Horner left Red Bull in July after being accused of inappropriate behaviour by a female employee in 2024, though he was cleared following an internal inquiry.
His departure ended a turbulent period in which the two teams clashed repeatedly over car design disputes, political manoeuvring and off-track sniping.
Reflecting on the strained relationship between the rival outfits, Brown said: “There’s always politicking, trying to shut down flexi-wings and that sort of thing.
Christian Horner was axed by Red Bull earlier this year
|PA
"But when you start getting into frivolous allegations, I think that’s going too far.
“If I look up and down the pitlane now, I see us fighting hard politically, but there being a line that’s not crossed.
"I think that line got crossed before, and I think it was unhealthy. So I think we’ll see a little bit of a change for the better.”
Horner is currently enjoying some time away from F1.
There has been talk of a move to Ferrari, though current team principal Fred Vasseur signed a new deal with the side before the Hungarian Grand Prix in July.
What the future holds for Horner, and his F1 career, remains to be seen.