McLaren CEO Zak Brown doesn’t believe Red Bull has been too affected by the behind-the scenes turmoil at its Formula 1 team just yet, but thinks the squad might see the impact on the longer term.
Red Bull has been embroiled in a power struggle ever since the passing of long-time owner Dietrich Mateschitz in 2022.
There has been a deepening rift between team boss Christian Horner, who enjoys the backing of the Thai majority owner, and the Austrian camp of incoming CEO Oliver Mintzlaff and Helmut Marko, who is inextricably linked to star driver Max Verstappen and his entourage.
Those tensions spilled out into the open at the start of 2024, when Horner faced an internal Red Bull probe over alleged wrongdoing against a female employee, a grievance which was dismissed by an independent barrister.
In the wake of the case, Verstappen’s father Jos made calls for Horner to leave, and tensions between the two flared up again at the recent Austrian Grand Prix. In the meantime, the squad’s talismanic designer Adrian Newey has announced his departure.
McLaren Brown, who was one of the paddock voices clamoring for more transparency over the Horner investigation, doesn’t believe Red Bull has been too affected by its power struggles just yet, but is expecting the inner turmoil to potentially be a factor as teams gear up for the 2026 regulations reset.
“I think the turmoil will have more of a mid to longer term impact,” he said. “Adrian Newey … this car was done last year, what they are racing now was done when everything was fine.
“It’s more ’26 when you’ve got a new engine coming, what’s going on with the driver front… that’s where you potentially are going to see the lack of stability that appears to be there maybe come through a little bit.
“Winning holds things together and as that becomes more of a challenge for them, that’s where you might see some more fractures in various relationships inside that camp.”
Oscar Piastri, McLaren MCL38, Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing RB20
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images
But with all F1 teams facing plenty of unknowns ahead of the 2026 season, when both the chassis and power unit regulations are undergoing sweeping changes, Brown is aware that 2025 could be McLaren’s best opportunity yet to challenge for the championship after working to get on par with Red Bull on pure pace.
“I think next year could be an epic season, right? You could have four teams fighting for the championship,” he said, while also acknowledging the likes of Aston Martin and RB could join the fray.
“It would be naive to rule out someone who’s not in the top four right now, because we do see how quickly things can change.
“Everyone has very similar technology, so there’s no reason why others can’t do what we’ve done the last year.”
