The team principal says that earlier in 2023, Hamilton’s team had “serious talks” with Ferrari in addition to reaching out to Red Bull.
Lewis Hamilton allegedly had discussions with Red Bull and Ferrari earlier this year, according to Christian Horner, who dropped a bombshell.
In an explosive interview with the Daily Mail, the Red Bull team principal revealed that Hamilton’s team had contacted the reigning constructors’ champions to see if they would be interested in signing the seven-time world champion.
According to Horner, Hamilton’s team had already contacted more than once to inquire about the Briton’s potential joining the team.
He added that earlier in 2023, Hamilton’s team had “serious talks” with Ferrari chairman John Elkann regarding a possible move to the Scuderia.
We have had several conversations over the years about Lewis joining,” Horner informed the Mail.
“They have reached out a few times. Most recently, earlier in the year, there was an inquiry about whether there would be any interest. “He met John Elkann, too. I think there were serious talks.”
But Horner also maintained that Red Bull was more than content with their current lineup and that he could never see Max Verstappen and Hamilton, two former bitter rivals for the championship, getting along on the same team.
The current world champion Verstappen committed to the team for a whopping £200 million five-year contract extension in March 2022, binding him to the team until 2028. However, Verstappen has already expressed uncertainty about his future in Formula One after that contract expires.
In contrast, Verstappen’s current teammate Sergio Perez has a contract with Red Bull through the end of the following season after agreeing to a two-year extension in May.
Nevertheless, Horner continued, “But I can’t see Max and Lewis working out together. The dynamic wouldn’t be right. We are 100 per cent happy with what we have.”
Hamilton signed a new two-year contract worth an estimated £50 million a season in August to stay with the Silver Arrows through the 2025 season, ending his uncertain future at Mercedes, the team where he has won six of his seven world titles since joining from McLaren in 2012.
Although Hamilton maintained that the team had never presented him with a contract and that he never felt prepared to move to Italy, he acknowledged to the Swiss publication Blick last month that there may have previously been some “casual conversations” as Ferrari tried to entice him across the grid.
While team principal Frederic Vasseur, for whom Hamilton raced with ART Grand Prix in the GP2 Series nearly 20 years ago, also insisted that no offer had been made, Hamilton had stated in May that no talks with Ferrari had taken place at that point.
As of right now, contracts with current Ferrari drivers Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc extend through the 2024 season.
