Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner believes “you haven’t got to be a rocket scientist” to decipher why Lewis Hamilton’s camp might’ve inquired about a race seat.
Ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Horner told the Daily Mail that a representative from Hamilton’s side had been in contact earlier in the year about a possible move to Red Bull.
“We have had several conversations over the years about Lewis joining,” he said. “They have reached out a few times. Most recently, earlier in the year, there was an inquiry about whether there would be any interest.”
Responding to those claims, Horner clarified that Hamilton’s father, Anthony, had been the one to reach out, adding that the whole episode had been blown out of proportion.
“It’s remarkable how much traction this has got. So thank you to the Daily Mail for going exclusively large on this item,” Horner remarked when questioned on the topic.
“I mean, it’s a question of he said, she said, who said, what said. It’s entirely normal for drivers, drivers’ representatives, drivers’ parents, to have different conversations during the course of the year and look, we haven’t had any serious discussions with Lewis. There was never a seat available.
“But, you know, I’ve known Anthony Hamilton for many years, he’s a good guy. He’s a proud racing father and inevitably when drivers go through tough spots – and you know, let’s face it, Lewis hasn’t won a Grand Prix for two years – it’s inevitable that questions will be asked up and down the paddock.
“But there was never any engagement and I don’t know who represents who or what, but with the same surname, you would think they were reasonably close. It’s difficult to say, but there was no, other than pleasantries. There was no specific ‘can I drive for Red Bull next year’, unless Anthony wanted to drive.
“So yeah, but that’s, as I say, not unusual. I mean, there are many drivers, as you can imagine, that we hear from during the course of a year.”
While Red Bull has won 39 of the 44 races over the past two seasons, Hamilton hasn’t added to his record 103 victories since the Saudi Arabian GP in December 2021.
Amid Mercedes’ struggles to get on top of the latest ground effect machinery, Horner contends that it wouldn’t be a shock if the Briton had been eyeing up a move elsewhere.
Asked if he thought Mercedes would be surprised to hear Hamilton’s entourage assessing other options, Horner replied: “Well, not really. I mean, he’s the most successful driver of all time, and hasn’t won a Grand Prix since 2021. So you haven’t got to be a rocket scientist to work that out.
“And I doubt that I was the only one that there was an inquiry made to.
“Now, what the dynamics are within any given relationship, I don’t know. I’m not privy to that. But, you know, inevitably there are questions going to be asked. And there’s not really much more to say a lot has been made out of something fairly innocuous.”
Despite the speculation, Mercedes announced in September that Hamilton and team-mate George Russell had agreed deals to remain with the team through 2025.
