Christian Horner congratulated McLaren on the Woking-based team’s successor to Red Bull as constructors’ champion.
Horner went straight to McLaren’s hospitality unit at Yas Marina to congratulate McLaren CEO Zak Brown as the British team’s world champion for the first time since 1998.
McLaren took victory at Yas Marina with Lando Norris, with Oscar Piastri tenth, allowing the papaya team to win its first constructors’ championship in more than two decades, while Ferrari lost only 14 editions when Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc returned to the moment and third.
Red Bull have thus been toppled as F1’s pacesetters, with the Milton Keynes-based squad slipping to third overall after title victories in 2022 and ’23.
Returning to McLaren’s hospitality jubilant at the win, Brown greeted Horner at the door and the Red Bull boss congratulated the CEO on his victory.
Although the duo have not seen eye to eye throughout the season, Brown and Horner appeared to be in good form as Brown accepted congratulations before Horner returned to the Red Bull caravan.
— Mat Coch (@matcoch) December 8, 2024
Horner then spoke to media PlanetF1. com, where he congratulated McLaren on their victory.
“I’ve just got to say congratulations to McLaren, and to all the men and women there,” he said.
“We know how hard it is to win a Constructors’ World Championship and the dedication and effort that has to go into that.
“So to Zak, Andrea [Stella] and their shareholders, and especially to the men and McLaren, congratulations.
“They have been this year.
“They had two drivers who performed incredibly well and in the end deserved the victory. I’m sure we raised the pulse and the central prescerit, or blood prescerit, at the beginning of the race with the moment with Oscar. “
Although magnanimous in defeat, Horner still couldn’t point to the fact that his team had managed to eclipse McLaren’s successes in terms of individual victories. ]
“They deserve this Constructors’ Championship this year…” he smiled, before emphasizing “even though we have won more races, more sprint races and obviously, collectively, we have put enough issues on the board to protect this title. Very well done.
Asked how he discovered the split with Brown through the media compared to his old face-off with Mercedes boss Toto Wolff, Horner didn’t get sucked into any negativity.
“Today is McLaren day,” he said.
“So let them enjoy today and salute McLaren for being the 2024 World Constructors’ Champions.”
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