Brown continues to pile pressure on Horner: 'I would feel very vulnerable'

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f1 Zak Brown piles the up pressure on 'vulnerable' Christian Horner
Today at 01:31

Zak Brown has said he would feel "very vulnerable" if he were in Christian Horner's shoes, believing that the Brit has a lot of explaining to do to the Red Bull Racing board while speaking to The Press Association.

Brown and Horner have never made it a secret that they are not the best of friends, which, once again, became clear at this weekend's Chinese Grand Prix, where both were asked to name something positive about each other during a press conference. Both mentioned the other team's achievements there, but not something about the person himself.

The McLaren CEO has been quite outspoken in the last few press moments. With McLaren finding their way to the front of the grid in terms of pace so far in 2025, the political game has now begun between team bosses. In this regard, Brown let slip that he believes Max Verstappen will be driving at Mercedes in 2026, something that caused irritation among his rivals.

How vulnerable is Christian Horner?

Continuing with his outspoken nature in recent press moments, Brown then made some comments about the fact Horner was booed by many fans at the O2 Arena in Londo during the F1 75 livery event:  "I would think any of us would come under pressure when you are not performing at the highest level, on-track, off-track, with sponsors, relationships, and brands.

"If I went to the F1 launch and I wasn’t welcomed (Horner was booed), and I came back to the table and I am sitting next to the CMO of our sponsors’ OKX and Mastercard, that is not a great look," the American continued. 

"Adrian Newey, Rob Marshall and Jonathan Wheatley have all left. When I go and meet my board, I would not be feeling great because they would be going, ‘Well, why did he leave? Why did he leave? And why did he leave? Oh, and by the way, you didn’t seem to get a very warm welcome at the launch’. I don’t know how they feel. But I would feel vulnerable," concluded Brown.

This article was written in collaboration with Tim Kraaij

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