The Big Lead

McLaren boss Zak Brown on his F1 beef with Red Bull's Christian Horner: 'I don't like how he rolls'

McLaren and Red Bull look set to battle it out on the track this season, and it seems their respective team bosses will do the same in the pit lane.

By Simon Head

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
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 / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
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In the white-hot heat of F1 battle, rivalries are unavoidable, and McLaren boss Zak Brown is no different.

The McLaren CEO's somewhat frosty relationship with Red Bull team principal Christian Horner was made clear for the world to see in the new season of Drive to Survive, with the filmmakers even deciding to feature it as part of the trailer for the new season, with Horner uttering the line, "Zak... is a prick."

RELATED: Lando Norris says McLaren ‘learned from our mistakes’ to win Australian Grand Prix

The apparent dislike runs both ways, with Brown telling the Telegraph that the rivalry is 100 percent real.

“Oh, it’s genuine,” he said 

“There’s no love lost there. I don’t like how he rolls and no doubt he feels the same about me.

"But I think it’s good for the sport. You need different characters. You need these rivalries. Some are friendly, sporting rivalries. Some are a bit more vicious. It’s always been like that.”

That rivalry looks set to play out over the 2025 F1 season, with Brown already stealing an early march over Horner and his Red Bull team, with McLaren's Lando Norris beating Red Bull's Max Verstappen to the win at the season opener in Melbourne last weekend.

And while McLaren hold the upper hand on the track after the first race of the season, Brown is also turning up the mind games as he delivered a thinly-veiled jab at Red Bull over their decision to hire Liam Lawson as Verstappen's teammate over Japanese racer Yuki Tsunoda, who was kept in their sister team, Racing Bulls.

In Australia, the difference in fortunes between the two drivers was huge. Tsunoda qualified fifth for the race, while Lawson, in a superior car, could only manage 18th.

Then, on a rain-affected race day, Tsunoda nursed his car through tricky conditions to secure a 12th-place finish, while Lawson retired from the race.

Chatting after the race to Sky Sports, Brown couldn't resist a little jab at the driver situation at Red Bull, as he cast doubt over their decision not so elevate Tsunoda to the main team.

“I think it’s going to be a very exciting year," he smiled.

“Yuki did a great job. (He’s) probably the guy that should be in the Red Bull if you look at how he’s performed. But they seem to make some strange driver choices.”

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