Zak Brown has addressed the rumours that former Red Bull team boss Christian Horner could return to Formula 1 in 2026.
The McLaren Racing CEO previously claimed that Horner’s exit from the championship was positive but, after being quizzed on his comments, he has acknowledged Horner’s “stellar career”.
Horner was replaced as Red Bull Racing CEO and team principal on 9 July 2025 and officially left the team on 22 September 2025 after reaching a settlement agreement. The agreement is thought to allow the Briton to return to the championship in 2026, although this has not been officially confirmed.
“I’m happy Laurent’s in the role he is in,” Brown said following the July announcement. “I like Laurent, that’ll be healthy, and maybe we can get back to focusing on competition on the track. There’s always going to be some political aspects to the sport, but I think it is going to be healthier with Laurent. I’m a fan of Laurent; I have known him for a long time, and it’ll be good to go racing against him.
“If I look up and down pitlane now, I see us fighting each other hard politically, but the line is not being crossed, and that line got crossed before. I think that we’ll see a little bit of a change for the better,” he said before adding that “we’re going to be in a better place”.
Following the news of the settlement agreement and Horner’s potential return, Brown was asked about his previous comments during an interview with Bloomberg.
“I think he’s had a stellar career in Formula 1; his results are lots of drivers’ championships, world championships,” he said.
Zak Brown, McLaren
Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Images
“I think when you get into sport, not everyone’s best friends, there’s different characters, so, while we may not have too many cups of tea in England, as we say, you need all different types of characters in the sport.
“I think that’s what makes the sport very exciting, that’s that kind of the Netflix effect, is what happens off the track. I think our sport’s unique in that not only is the competition on the field of play extremely exciting, there’s a lot of competition off the field of play.
“And it’s a small group of team bosses and drivers, so I think the fans can get to know us all. I’ve got my friends in pitlane and some that aren’t, but I think that’s what makes it exciting and it’s authentic and genuine.”
