McLaren โBoss โฃZak Brown Alleges Pattern of Intimidation byโ Former Rival Christian horner
SILVERSTONE, UK – McLaren โCEO Zak Brown has publicly accused former rival Christian Horner of engaging in tactics beyond acceptable political maneuvering within Formula 1, alleging a pattern of intimidation that he believes has now โขsubsidedโ following Horner’s recent departure from Red bull Racing. The claims, made in aโค recent interview withโ The Telegraph, detail a deteriorationโฃ in a three-decade relationship that began in Formula 3.
Brown, while acknowledging Horner’s notable track record, โstated, “I’ve known Christian for over thirtyโข years. We got along well. His results are remarkable. So, hats off. But he’s changed. I think the fame linked to Drive to Survive, the money, โthe fame, it all โbecame a little too much.”
The McLaren โขboss specifically cited a โcomplaint filed by โHorner at the โend of the 2024 season, alleging โMcLaren intentionally injected water โฃinto theirโค tires, as an example of unacceptable behavior. “He made allegations against our team. I can’t imagine he believed it. It was just meant to upset us. Regardless โof the legality, everyone in sports knows you wouldn’t do that on technical grounds,” Brown said.He further clarified thatโ such actions fall outside the bounds of typicalโ F1 competition,stating,”There’s always going to be some politics,and โwe’re all trying to get flexโ fins banned,that kind of thing. But when you start getting into frivolous allegations, โคI think it’s gone too far.”
Theโ FIA examination swiftly dismissed Horner’s allegations against McLaren,finding no evidence of wrongdoing. Brown โcharacterized the incident as a form of “psychological warfare.”
Despite a history of competitive rivalry, Brown admitted earlierโ this year that the public exchanges between the two had “been too far.” He now believes theโฃ situation was not reciprocal, and that Horner crossed a โขline.
However, Brown expressed optimism aboutโ the current state ofโข the F1 paddock. “If I look at the whole paddock today, โI see that we’re all โฃfighting hard politically, but there’s a line that’s not being crossed. I think that line had been crossed before,and โit was unhealthy. So I think โwe’re going to see a little change in the โคright direction.”
