London isn’t short on power dinners, but this one turned heads: Mohammed Ben Sulayem broke bread with Christian Horner and McLaren boss Zak Brown this week, an unlikely trio for a mid-week catch‑up away from the paddock.
The FIA President posted the photos himself on Instagram, smiling alongside Brown and Horner at a London restaurant. On paper, that’s just three big names sharing a meal. In reality, it’s a snapshot of F1’s shifting power dynamics in 2025.
Horner, no longer in an official F1 role since his removal from Red Bull following the British Grand Prix, has had a long and very public rivalry with Brown. The McLaren CEO admitted earlier this year there was “no love lost” between the pair. Yet sources familiar with the evening described it as cordial, informal and—importantly—non‑transactional. No agenda, no whiteboards, no napkin contracts. Just a thaw.
That alone is notable. Brown’s been tied up in London courts this week as McLaren seeks damages from IndyCar champion Alex Palou, while Horner, freed from a team boss’ race‑to‑race grind, is understood to be courting investors and sketching out a route back to the grid. Reports indicate he’s not in serious talks with Ferrari about replacing Fred Vasseur; instead, the more intriguing drumbeat is around Horner building something new.
If that’s the path, the front door remains the FIA’s Expression of Interest. Ben Sulayem has been consistent about the direction of travel: more teams, not more races. He’s said before that the 2023 EOI—which he points out approved Andretti/Cadillac—was run on due process and competency, not politics. His stance hasn’t softened. The FIA boss has also suggested the sport should first assess the performance of the 11th entrant, then be open to credible new bids, including potential Chinese investment, if the business stacks up.
That’s the subtext to this dinner. Ben Sulayem, who’s primed for a second term when the FIA heads to Uzbekistan for December’s elections, has been working the room across the sport all season. Brown, meanwhile, has re-established McLaren at the sharp end and has opinions on almost everything, often voiced loudly. And Horner, whether you loved him or loathed him in charge, is a dealmaker with recent experience winning world titles. These are not three people who meet by accident.
No one’s pretending this was a summit. But in a year where the calendar has the drivers begging for fewer flights and the political weather has been stormy, a quiet evening between two former adversaries and the sport’s referee is worth noting. F1’s next growth spurt—be it an extra team, a recalibrated Concorde, or just better alignment—will be built as much in rooms like this as in board meetings.
Ben Sulayem captioned the post, “An evening spent in good company. Thank you, Christian and Zak.” Simple enough. Still, the timing is interesting. McLaren’s on the rise, the FIA President is on the campaign trail, and Horner—out but hardly gone—looks like a man plotting a comeback route that doesn’t require asking anyone for a job title.
If the dinner was merely a social reset, fine. If it was a bridge to the next act, even better. Either way, it’s another sign that the sport’s tectonic plates are shifting again, slowly at first and then all at once. Keep an eye on the EOI chatter, the FIA election corridors, and—if the whispers prove right—who’s quietly booking meeting rooms with would‑be backers. The grid might not have room today, but F1 has a habit of finding space when the right project knocks.
For now, it was smiles, steak, and a rare pause in hostilities. But the off‑track chessboard just got a fresh move.
