Brown admits tough to swallow Horner truth as F1 return looms
Zak Brown has admitted Christian Horner's potential return to the paddock could benefit F1's authenticity, despite claiming the two "may not have too many cups of tea" together upon the Briton's possible return.
"We may not have too many cups of tea."- Zak Brown
Horner was removed from his role at Red Bull in July and has been replaced by Laurent Mekies, who stepped up from the Racing Bulls team.
The Briton will be free to return to Formula 1 as of spring of 2026, which Is when His gardening leave Is understood will end.
Brown disagreed with the way he believed Horner carried out the political fight between Red Bull and McLaren off the track, being particularly irked by his British counterpart's reported suggestions that the Woking-based team has breached the rules to achieve the excellent tyre management levels they currently boast.
However, despite openly accepting there's no love lost between him and Horner, Brown explained in an interview with Bloomberg that Formula 1 thrives on off-track rivalries as well as battles on the circuit.
"I think he’s had a stellar career, lots of drivers’ championships," Brown said sharing his thoughts on Horner. "When you get into sport, not everybody’s best friends, there are different characters.
“While we may not have too many cups of tea [together], you need different types of characters in this sport. That’s what makes this sport exciting. That’s the Netflix effect – what happens off the track," Brown added admitting the need of key playera like Horner in the F1 paddock.
“Our sport’s unique in that not only is the competition on the track extremely exciting, there’s a lot of competition off the field of play."
F1's characters make the sport "authentic and genuine"
Brown added that the team bosses and drivers, being small in numbers, allows for the fans to get to know each of them. And although he's not friends with everyone in the paddock, he acknowledges that the rivalries make the sport in "authentic."
He said: “It’s a small group of team bosses and drivers, so the fans can get to know us all. I’ve got my friends in pit lane, and some that aren’t, but I think that’s what makes it exciting, and it’s authentic and genuine.”
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