Christian Horner told he should feel 'vulnerable' as Zak Brown twists knife in F1 rival

McLaren chief Zak Brown has accepted his latest opportunity to fire shots at his Red Bull Racing counterpart Christian Horner by raising doubts over his future in his job

Christian Horner has been told he should worry for his Red Bull future. The 51-year-old remains as the long-serving Red Bull team principal and chief executive despite a barrage of high-profile issues over the last year.

Most difficult to navigate was the allegation of inappropriate behaviour by a female colleague, denied by Horner, of which he was cleared twice by the Red Bull parent company. But his reputation took a hit and, in the months after, a string of high-profile employees left for jobs with other teams for various reasons.

On track, Red Bull lost their constructors' title last year, though Max Verstappen retained his drivers' crown. And, at the pre-season event at London's O2 Arena in February, Horner's unpopularity among some fans shone through as he was loudly booed by the audience.

McLaren chief executive Zak Brown pointed to that as he said he would feel "vulnerable" if he were in the same position. He said: "I would think any of us would come under pressure when you are not performing at the highest level, on-track, off-track, with sponsors, relationships, and brands.

"If I went to the F1 launch and I wasn't welcomed, and I came back to the table and I am sitting next to the CMO of our sponsors OKX and Mastercard, that is not a great look.

"You have got the Red Bull GmbH managing director [Oliver Mintzlaff] sitting there. And then you have got the Verstappens who don't seem to have a great relationship [with Horner], from the outside looking in. Adrian Newey, Rob Marshall and Jonathan Wheatley have all left and if I was in that position, I would feel vulnerable.

"When I go and meet my board, I would not be feeling great because they would be going, 'Well, why did he leave? Why did he leave? And why did he leave? Oh, and by the way, you didn't seem to get a very warm welcome at the launch'. I don't know how they feel. But I would feel vulnerable."

Brown's blunt analysis came in a separate interview from his press conference showdown with Horner in Shanghai on Friday. Both were scheduled to appear in the FIA's regularly scheduled team representatives media session, leading to predictions of more fireworks between the two outspoken rival bosses.

But they kept it civil to each others' faces, even answering a question about what they admire most about each other. Brown went first and said: "The results Red Bull have put up. What has it been now, 20 years? They're pretty awesome, right? And we're in the results-oriented business. They've won a lot of races, a lot of championship - pretty awesome."

To which Horner added: "You have to respect competitors' performances. I think McLaren obviously turned their season around last year. They did a very good job. They've built on that and they look like the car to beat this year. So credit where credit is due. I always think that it's important to have respect where respect is due."