The F1 world was stunned in the week after Silverstone when it was confirmed Christian Horner got sacked. Following the news, key figures in the F1 world, such as McLaren team principal Zak Brown, have shared their opinions.
News not caught by surprise
For Zak Brown, the surprise didn’t come from the dismissal but from the timing of it. According to the McLaren team principal, the atmosphere at Red Bull has long been marked by drama, and instead of fading, it seems to have intensified as the seasons have gone by.
“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 it’s getting worse,” he said to TSN.
Far from shocked that Red Bull made the decision mid-season to fire Christian Horner, Zak Brown stated that his team remains fully focused on the championship. Max Verstappen is chasing the papaya team, but Zak Brown nonetheless acknowledged the success Red Bull has had in recent years.
“I’m not surprised any time 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 got to pay attention to that. But yeah, a tremendous amount of success they had.”
An uncertain future for Horner
According to Zak Brown, Christian Horner still has a path ahead in the motorsport world. It would be a surprise if he didn’t return. Although the papaya team principal is unaware of Horner’s plans, he believes we’ll all see him again in the future.
“I think 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.”
New horizons for Verstappen? Brown an interested spectator
As for him, Zak Brown seems like just another spectator amid the uncertainty surrounding where Verstappen will race next year.
Nonetheless, Brown couldn’t be more satisfied with the drivers that make up the McLaren team. He doesn’t spend more time than necessary dwelling on the news, as he’s genuinely happy with his team’s current line-up.
“Yeah, but I couldn’t be happier with Oscar and Lando. So short of being an interested spectator, I’m very happy with my driver lineup. I don’t really spend any time on other than what pops up on my phone.”
