Zak Brown’s true feelings on Christian Horner amid F1 return rumours | F1 | Sport

McLaren chief Zak Brown has weighed in on the burning speculation surrounding former adversary Christian Horner‘s potential Formula 1 comeback. Horner, 51, was axed as Red Bull‘s team principal following two decades at the helm in July, though his departure was only confirmed last month.

Being tied to a contract until 2030, the Briton secured a staggering £80million severance deal. Horner’s agreement with Red Bull also permits him to rejoin F1 before next summer. This provision has fuelled whispers that Horner might already be plotting his next career move, with Alpine, Aston Martin and Haas all reportedly courting his expertise.

A paddock comeback would reignite his fierce rivalry with Brown, who emerged as his chief adversary during Red Bull‘s intense clash with McLaren in recent seasons. Brown, who serves as McLaren‘s F1 team CEO, admits he and Horner weren’t ‘best friends’ but insists the 51-year-old brought vital ‘authenticity’ to the sport, making it more ‘genuine’.

“I think he’s had a stellar career in Formula 1; his results are lots of drivers’ championships, world championships,” Brown told Bloomberg. “I think when you get into sport, not everyone’s best friends, there’s different characters, so, while we may not have too many cups of tea in England, as we say, you need all different types of characters in the sport.

“I think that’s what makes the sport very exciting, that’s that kind of the Netflix effect, is what happens off the track. I think our sport’s unique in that not only is the competition on the field of play extremely exciting, there’s a lot of competition off the field of play.

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“And it’s a small group of team bosses and drivers, so I think the fans can get to know us all. I’ve got my friends in pitlane and some that aren’t, but I think that’s what makes it exciting, and it’s authentic and genuine.”

Previously, however, Brown suggested that Horner’s departure made F1 a ‘healthier place’, with Laurent Mekies stepping into his shoes as Red Bull team principal. “If I look up and down pit lane now, I see us fighting each other hard politically, but the line is not being crossed, and that line got crossed before,” he said.

“So I think that we’ll see a little bit of a change for the better. There’s a higher level of trust that now if we sit down and have a conversation on a topic where we think there could be some confidentiality, and it’s just not an automatic, ‘I’m going to use that as a political weapon.’

“We’re going to be in a better place, a little bit more unified, and a little bit more trusting that while we’re fighting on track, we can have a conversation about what’s good for the sport off it. And that won’t get manipulated for political reasons and taken out of context.”