McLaren team principal Zak Brown has admitted to cynically using Red Bull’s 2024 investigation of Christian Horner to destabilise their Formula 1 rivals.
Horner was accused of sending inappropriate messages to a Red Bull colleague, something he denied and was cleared of by an independent investigation last year.
The news played a part in the recent Drive to Survive Formula 1 Netflix documentary, with Brown’s public reaction angering Horner behind the scenes.
Brown, whose McLaren team are looking to defend their Constructor’s Championship this year, has admitted, however, that he saw an opportunity to cause chaos amid the fall out from Horner’s unwanted publicity.
“Our sport, perhaps more than others – though I wouldn’t claim to be an expert on other sports – has a highly competitive and political aspect,” he told the TechStuff podcast this week.
“The goal is to make ourselves as fast as possible, but there’s also a strategy of destabilising the competition. We try to create tension or disrupt other teams, which isn’t unique to F1 but is particularly pronounced here.
“You’re constantly fighting for employees, drivers, sponsors, and media attention plays a big role. If you can generate some instability in rival teams – and it doesn’t always work in our favor – it can slow them down while we focus on speeding up.”
Brown tactics worked?
Some would suggest Brown’s “slowing down” tactics worked, with Red Bull’s performance falling off a cliff midway through the 2024 season, allowing McLaren to close the gap and win the team title. Max Verstappen won the solo crown for a fourth consecutive year but McLaren’s Lando Norris leads this year’s title charge.
Formula 1 returns this weekend for the third race of the season. The paddock heads to Japan having seen two separate winners in the first two races, as well as a Lewis Hamilton victory in the first sprint race of the season.
