McLaren boss Zak Brown ‘not surprised’ after F1 arch rival Christian Horner’s shock Red Bull exit

McLaren F1 CEO Zak Brown insists he was “not surprised” by the sudden departure of arch rival Christian Horner at Red Bull.

Horner, 51, was relieved of his duties as team principal and F1 CEO at Red Bull Racing after 20 years in the role. Laurent Mekies, formerly of sister team Racing Bulls, has taken over ahead of this week’s Belgian Grand Prix.

Yet Brown, who enjoyed several vocal squabbles with Horner in the last few years, believes the “drama” at Red Bull in recent times inevitably led to Horner’s downfall.

“Maybe the timing, but not the result,” Brown told Canadian sports channel TSN, when asked if he was surprised by Horner’s exit.

“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 been getting worse.

"So, I'm not surprised, anytime in the middle of the season. 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.”

Horner led Red Bull to six constructors’ titles and eight drivers’ championships during his time in charge, but saw the team plunge into issues in recent years.

Red Bull were the only team in breach of the cost-cap in its initial year in 2021, while the investigation surrounding an allegation of “inappropriate behaviour” against Horner – he was cleared twice – made headlines away from the racetrack at the start of last season.

Zak Brown and Christian Horner were fierce rivals as McLaren and Red Bull bosses (Getty Images)

Despite this, Brown expects Horner – who has been linked with Ferrari and Alpine – to return to the paddock in some capacity.

“Given his age and his history in motor racing, I'd be surprised if he didn't show up somewhere in motor racing," Brown added.

"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.”

Meanwhile, there are just eight points between championship leader Oscar Piastri and McLaren teammate Lando Norris heading into this week’s race at Spa-Francorchamps.