McLaren fans are convinced their latest social media post was Zak Brown’s ‘idea’ after Christian Horner sacking

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Christian Horner was involved in two major rivalries during his final years at Red Bull. The first was with Toto Wolff, and the second with Zak Brown.

Wolff and Horner clashed most notably during the 2021 season when Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen fought for the title. While Mercedes haven’t been championship contenders since, their pursuit of Verstappen has prolonged the tension.

The animosity between Horner and Brown is more recent. It has come as a result of McLaren’s rise, starting with a run of podiums in 2023 and developing into their dominant 2025 campaign.

Horner and Brown have often traded public jibes, even though their respective drivers have largely been on good terms. Red Bull have rankled McLaren by complaining to the FIA about numerous alleged rule breaches in recent months.

F1 fans love McLaren’s ‘perfect timing’ as they post Zak Brown smiling with his drivers

Shortly after the news of Horner’s Red Bull sacking broke on Wednesday morning, McLaren shared an Instagram post with the caption: “The selfie game was strong last week.”

The first picture showed Oscar Piastri smiling with Lando Norris and McLaren Racing CEO Brown. It was taken after their one-two finish at the British Grand Prix last weekend, a result that took them nearly 300 points ahead of Red Bull in the championship.

While the post may have been scheduled in advance, several F1 fans noted what they saw as ‘absolutely perfect’ timing. One jokingly said it was ‘diabolical’ to post the photos while Red Bull went through a ‘divorce’.

Another suspects that they projected the ‘happy family’ image very deliberately. A fellow user noted that ‘Red Bull is imploding and here’s McLaren posting The Smilers’.

Indeed, ‘a certain team can’t post their team principal and his drivers’ for the moment.

“How much do you bet this was Zak’s idea?” a final comment read.

Zak Brown has already given seal of approval to potential Christian Horner replacement

Laurent Mekies will replace Christian Horner, a natural choice given his position at sister team Racing Bulls. There’s a cruel irony for Horner in the change given that he’s swapped multiple drivers between the two squads mid-season.

It’s unclear whether Mekies will take on the job permanently or an interim basis. Red Bull have also been linked with Andreas Seidl, the former McLaren chief.

Brown previously called Seidl the best boss in F1, though he’ll be delighted with the performance of Andrea Stella. The Italian is now joint-second on the longest-serving team principal leaderboard with Fred Vasseur (Wolff is first).

Despite their disagreements, neither Wolff nor Brown is likely to welcome Horner’s sacking. There is a degree of kinship among leadership staff in F1 because they share an understanding of the unique pressures involved.