Brown reignites Horner feud with 'integrity' swipe

McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown has called out Christian Horner for a lack of "transparency" and "hitting the integrity" of F1.

The 52-year-old's words relate to the Red Bull team principal's handling on its 2021 cost cap breach, which came to light during the 2022 F1 season.

With McLaren trailing the Milton Keynes squad by just 42 points in the constructors' championship with 10 rounds to run, Brown and Horner could be in for a tense conclusion to the year.

The Woking-based team has whittled down Red Bull's advantage, which stood at 115 points after the Miami Grand Prix, and appears set on destabilising Horner and his operation further by re-igniting a years old feud between the two.

"I've known Christian for about 25, 30 years. We used to race against each other. I would say we used to get on," Brown told BBC Sport.

"I believe in transparency. I believe in putting your hand up when you get something wrong. The cost cap, the excuses behind that, I never really heard a 'we just got it wrong'. I heard excuses and not taking ownership.

"When someone breaches the cost cap, and doesn't seem to kind of take it seriously, that's kind of hitting the integrity and core of the sport. To me, it's not personal. It's protecting our sport."

When Red Bull's cost cap irregularities came to light, Brown wrote a letter to the FIA in which he said: "The overspend breach, and possibly the procedural breaches, constitute cheating by offering a significant advantage across technical, sporting and financial regulations."

The American went on to argue for sporting sanctions on top of any financial penalty. The governing body heeded Brown's word and Red Bull were punished with a 10 percent cut in allowed wind tunnel time for a year.

There is no love lost between the pair and Brown has not shied away from wading into matters concerning Horner since, either.

In the wake of Adrian Newey announcing his departure from Red Bull, Brown took the opportunity to add insult to injury by saying McLaren had seen an "increasing in CVs" being sent from staff at the constructors' champions.

Brown has also been a vocal critic of Red Bull management, its approach to racing and, in particular, its handling of Max Verstappen, who he believes the team is "scared of". 

That was perhaps none more evident than at the start of 2024, when he called for Red Bull to be pressed into sharing comprehensive details of its internal investigation into now-dismissed accusations of alleged inappropriate behaviour by Horner with the FIA.

"When I see things not consistent with our values, I'm going to speak up about it because it's important people understand where we're coming from," Brown explained.

"I realise that's not necessarily always going to be popular, or make friends with everyone in the pit lane, but as long as I'm friends with McLaren, our fans, our partners, that's what's most important to me."