F1 News: Christian Horner Hits Back at Zak Brown's Hints of Red Bull Internal Upset

Red Bull's Christian Horner counters Zak Brown's claims of instability.

Christian Horner, Team Principal of Oracle Red Bull Racing, speaks at the Red Bull Fan Zone, a / Jay Janner/American-Statesman / USA

Tensions have surfaced between Red Bull Racing and rival teams following Adrian Newey's planned departure from the Austrian team in 2025. Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has responded assertively to McLaren CEO Zak Brown's suggestions that Red Bull is facing internal instability.

The motorsport world was stirred when news broke out about Adrian Newey, the celebrated Formula 1 designer, deciding to leave Red Bull by early 2025 after nearly two decades with the team. This departure comes amidst rumors of internal tensions within the Milton Keynes-based squad.

Zak Brown, the CEO of McLaren Racing, expressed little surprise over Newey’s decision to leave, hinting at ongoing issues at Red Bull. He said during the Team Press Conference ahead of the Miami Grand Prix:

"Am I surprised? Six months ago, I would have been surprised.

"I think given everything that's gone on since the start of the year and knowing Adrian [Newey] pretty well, he's [a] very high integrity individual. I'm not surprised he is moving on.

"I think with the stuff that's going on there [at Red Bull] it is a bit destabilising. It's probably the first domino to fall, my guess is not the last based on the resumes flying around."

Brown continued:

"Yeah, we've seen an increase in CVs coming our way from Red Bull.

"Adrian [Newey] is the most successful designer of all time. So, in addition to the technical [knowledge] that he brings to the racing team, people want to work for people like Adrian Newey, and work alongside him.

"So I think they'll be missing what he brings to the team from a pure technical point of view, and then I think the leadership and the excitement people get from working with him will be missed."

However, Christian Horner, presented a different perspective as he dismissed the implications of any significant internal disruption following Newey's exit. Horner emphasized the natural dynamics of F1 where personnel movements are commonplace. He explained to the media:

"I think we know there are two candidates involved; they talk a lot. And look, I'm not going to get Zak [Brown, CEO of McLaren]in for a tit for tat, but I'd be more focused on Toto's [Wolff, CEO of Mercedes F1], own issues that he has.

"Of course, there's always going to be movement between teams, I don't know how many people we've employed from McLaren this year or how many people VCarb we’ve employed In Mercedes, we've taken 220 people. 220 into Red Bull power trains so when we're talking about losing people I'd be a bit more worried about the 220 not maybe one or two."