A rival team boss has delivered a scathing assessment of Christian Horner.

Christian Horner has been described as arrogant by McLaren chief Zak Brown (Image: GETTY)

McLaren boss Zak Brown believes Christian Horner has ‘changed’ as a result of his newfound fame from the Netflix documentary series Drive to Survive. The two rival figures are hardly fond of each other and clashed on several occasions during Horner’s time in charge of Red Bull. He often accused other teams, including McLaren, of bending the rules to gain a competitive advantage.

Towards the end of last season, Horner suggested that McLaren had been injecting water into their tyres to help cool them during races. The claims were investigated by the FIA but the governing body found no evidence of wrongdoing. The incident was one of many that saw Brown become Horner’s primary opponent during Red Bull’s battle with McLaren.Brown has since launched a stinging attack on his former adversary in a wide-ranging interview with The Telegraph. He accused the 52-year-old of being arrogant, having previously been cordial with him before their relationship deteriorated.

“I’ve known Christian for 30-plus years,” said Brown. “We used to get on. His results are amazing, so hats off. But he’s changed. I think the Drive to Survive fame, the money, the glory, all got a bit much.”

Asked if Horner could be considered a fair player, the McLaren chief replied: “At times, no. Back when I was racing, there were drivers who raced hard and squeezed competitors’ cars two wheels off the track.

“That’s okay, but other drivers squeeze you four wheels off the track. That’s not okay. I’m a two-wheels-off guy. Christian is a four-wheels-off guy.”

Brown also claimed that Horner only made the McLaren tyre allegations in a desperate bid to disrupt them, rather than it being a case of him suspecting genuine foul play.

Brown and Horner rarely saw eye-to-eye during the latter’s time at Red Bull (Image: GETTY)

“He made allegations towards our team,” added Brown. “I can’t imagine he believed them. It was simply intended to disrupt us. Regardless of legality, everyone in the sport knows you wouldn’t do that for technical reasons.”

Max Verstappen was also targeted by the McLaren boss, who accused the Dutchman of being a ‘bruiser’ and stepping over the mark in previous battles with Lewis Hamilton.

“He can be a bruiser, too aggressive on track,” said the American. “His arrogance comes out. If you look at some of the greatest champions in Formula One, they’ve had some arrogance about them.

“They get their elbows out. Max has crossed the line on track at times, in Brazil against Lewis Hamilton over time. A handful of his passes on Lewis were overly aggressive.”

Brown has already celebrated McLaren winning this year’s Constructors’ Championship title, with the Woking squad by far the quickest team on the grid. One of their drivers will also claim the individual honours with Lando Norris in pole position as things stand.