
Zak Brown believes Christian Horner will return to Formula 1 soon after his departure from Red Bull. Horner is reportedly exploring opportunities with teams like Alpine and Aston Martin.
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McLaren CEO Zak Brown says he would be āshockedā if Christian Horner did not return to Formula 1 in the near future.
Horner is eyeing a route back into the sport after his sacking from Red Bull last summer, following two decades of success leading the outfit as team principal. He won 14 F1 world championships in total.
The British executive has been linked with Alpine ā and is part of a consortium which has bid for a minority stake in the team, alongside a pitch from Mercedes ā as well as Aston Martin and even the top job at Ferrari.
Brown enjoyed a fractious and fierce relationship with Horner over the last few years, with the pair clashing over Red Bullās cost-cap breach, incidents between star drivers Lando Norris and Max Verstappen, and even Red Bullās internal investigation over allegations of āinappropriate behaviourā levelled at Horner, for which he was cleared twice in 2024.
Yet, speaking at a McLaren media event on Wednesday, Brown has backed his long-term adversary to return to the paddock soon. āChristian was a great personality for the sport,ā said the American.
āThey come and go. Itād be great to have Christian back in the sport. Heās a great operator.
āIād rather have 10 weak team principals, but thatās not going to happen anytime soon! Itād be great to have him back.
āIām sure given his passion⦠Iād be shocked if he wasnāt back in the sport.ā
Brown also spoke passionately about the concept of āA/B teamsā in Formula 1, given Mercedesās interest in Alpine and Red Bullās two-team structure with Racing Bulls acting as a junior outfit for the main Red Bull team.
Christian Horner was sacked from Red Bull last summer after two decades of leading the team.
Horner is linked with Alpine, Aston Martin, and potentially Ferrari for a return to Formula 1.
Zak Brown expressed that he would be shocked if Horner did not return to F1 soon, calling him a great personality for the sport.
Horner faced controversies including clashes over cost-cap breaches and allegations of inappropriate behavior, from which he was cleared twice.

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Zak Brown and Christian Horner were fierce rivals in the F1 paddock (Getty)
"In today's day and age, if that's permitted, I think it runs a real high risk of compromising the integrity of sporting fairness,ā said Brown, who has long voiced his disapproval of one company owning two teams.
"And what would turn fans off is if they don't feel like there's 11 independent racing teams. I've been vocal about it from day one. We've seen it play out on track in a sporting way, with Daniel Ricciardo taking the fastest lap point away [Singapore GP, 2024] from us to help the other team.
"We've seen IP [intellectual property] violations on the Aston Martin/Racing Point brake ducts. We've seen employees move overnight, where we either have to wait and sometimes make financial deals, which then impact us in the cost cap.
"So when you see other teams that move from one to the other and then also without financial compensation, that's an unfair financial advantage. That's an unfair sporting advantage. We've seen Ferrari and Haas move people back and forth, and we know with IP, there's a lot in your head with that.
Brown has criticised the concept of āA and B teamsā in the sport (Getty)
"Can you imagine a Premier League game where you've got two teams owned by the same group - one's going to get relegated if they lose, and the other can afford to lose? That's what we run the risk of.
āSo I think having engine power units as suppliers is as far as it should go and then in my view, all 11 teams should be absolutely as independent as possible because I think it has a high risk, and we have seen it, to compromise the integrity of the sport."
āIt applies to anybody and everybody. So A and B teams, co-ownership, regardless of who it is, I frown upon it. I don't think it's healthy for the sport.ā
F1 returns with the Miami Grand Prix, round four of the 2026 season, on 1-3 May.