Christian Horner has poured more fuel on the fire that Lewis Hamilton was assessing his options earlier this year by suggesting Red Bull were not the only team he reached out to. Hamilton was locked in contract talks with the Silver Arrows as he entered the last year of his deal.
The Brit ended up signing a two-year extension that takes him upto the end of the 2025 season. But Horner claims he was contacted by Hamilton’s father to test the waters over a potential move to Red Bull.
Hamilton completely denied those suggestions and held talks with Toto Wolff to reassure the Mercedes boss of his commitment. However, Horner has now added more fuel onto the fire by suggesting Hamilton is likely to have also contacted other F1 manufacturers.
“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,” Horner said. “And I doubt that I was the only one that there was an inquiry made to.
“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.”
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