McLaren CEO Zak Brown admitted that while he was not surprised by the firing of Christian Horner from his role at the helm of Red Bull Racing, he was surprised by its timing.
Horner was sacked days after the 2025 British Grand Prix in Silverstone, which shocked the Formula 1 community, and rival Brown was one of those surprised by its timing.
Brown and Horner have had a history of bickering and politicking over the years, and none of them was shy of taking a swipe against the other whenever possible.
When Red Bull Racing were found to have breached their budget cap back in 2022, Brown wrote a letter to the FIA all but asking that they be firmly punished. When the Horner sexting scandal came out back in 2024, the American was far from diplomatic, commenting on his British counterpart's situation at the time.
Horner, on the other hand, did not hold back either when clashing with Brown on various issues that brought them into confrontation on and off the track.
But for now, Brown will have a break from fighting with Horner, as the latter will not be around for some time. However, he was asked by TSN, the Canadian TV channel, about his thoughts regarding his rival's dismissal.
There has been a lot of dram at Red Bull Racing
"I'm maybe [surprised by] the timing, but not the result," Brown responded. "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 it's been getting worse.
"So, I'm not surprised, anytime in the middle of the season," he added. "But we're head down on our championship. They've got Max [Verstappen] still knocking on the door, so we've got to pay attention to that. But, yeah, tremendous amount of success they've had."
No one has an idea what Horner would be up to next, with speculation linking him to Ferrari as a potential replacement for Fred Vasseur, who has been under the media spotlight recently in Italy. Alpine would be another option for the former Red Bull Racing boss.
As for Brown, he commented on Horner's future saying: "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," the McLaren top man concluded.
According to Sky Sports F1, Horner is understood to be on gardening leave till the end of 2025.
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