Oct 20, 2024; Austin, Texas, USA; McLaren Formula 1 CEO Zak Brown walks through the track entrance before the 2024 Formula One US Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

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“Not Surprised”- Zak Brown Delivers His Verdict on Christian Horner’s Exit from Red Bull Racing Expecting Him to Return to Motorsports!

Zak Brown talks about Christian Horner's exit from Red Bull and potential moves in the sport.

Zak Brown is a happy man this season. After his takeover of McLaren, he has struck gold with the Piastri and Norris duo. His team was able to bring Red Bull Racing down last season and claim the constructor’s title. In 2025, Zak Brown and McLaren are looking forward to yet another title winning season. This time McLaren are leading both championships.

Zak Brown is looking forward to increasing the gap between his team and the rivals. Amidst all the success at McLaren, there is another team which is suffering dearly in 2025. McLaren’s no.1 rival in the driver’s championship Red Bull Racing took a huge decision after the British Grand Prix. Zak Brown is among the only team principals to have spoken up regarding Horner’s exit from the team after 20 years. The McLaren boss had a lot to say about the situation at Red Bull and how he thinks it was long-time coming.

Zak Brown Believes Christian Horner Got Replaced Too Soon at Red Bull Racing

The team principals in Formula 1 have not taken up the topic about Christian Horner’s sacking. There are a lot of theories and potential future moves which are being discussed about the former Red Bull Racing CEO.

Brown and Horner have been stark rivals for the past two years. Their rivalry was also among the key highlights of NETFLIX’s Drive to Survive Series. Christian Horner himself did not have any information about his removal from the team in such an abrupt manner.

Although, for Zak Brown, the move was expected. Brown refers to Horner’s previous scandals and the team’s lack of performance as the probable reason for his removal.

Zak Brown reacts to Christian Horner being sacked by Red Bull. pic.twitter.com/N1ohLAMonA
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) July 21, 2025

“I’m maybe the timing, 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 been 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.”

Zak also confirms his prediction for Christian Horner. Brown believes that Horner will definitely return to the sport. However, he didn’t shy away from taking a sarcastic jab at him leaving motorsports for some other team.

“Given his age and his history in motor racing, I’d be surprised if he didn’t show up somewhere in motor racing. But I don’t know his other interests, whether he wants to go run a football team or what have you. So, we’ll see.”

Christian Horner

Formula 1 2025 Season

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I work as a Writer at The Playoffs specialising in NHL, Formula 1 and Motorsports. I got into online journalism a couple of years ago. I used to be an intern for a website managing their Formula 1 content and then I served an entire year as a contractual writer.