Lewis Hamilton “Reached Out” To Red Bull Earlier Said Christian Horner
Giancarlo Perlas November 23, 2023Red Bull Team Principal and CEO Christian Horner revealed that Lewis Hamilton “reached out” to them with hopes of negotiating a switch to the current winning team.
Current Contract Status of Lewis Hamilton
Contract negotiations between Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula 1 team have always been a major pain for both parties. However, the two have ironed out a new agreement at the end of August.
The new contract extension of the seven-time champion extends his tenure with Mercedes F1 until the end of the 2025 season. The newly-inked deal also extended George Russell’s run with the team.
In the announcement of the signing, Hamilton said there’s no other place he’d rather be. He emphasized, too, that Mercedes has been supporting him since he was 13.
Christian Horner Throws Shade at Lewis Hamilton
For Red Bull Chief Christian Horner, however, not everything is at it seems. He revealed that prior to Hamilton’s latest deal, the Mercedes driver shopped around for better options with rival teams, and one of them was Red Bull.
The exposé came during the interview of the Red Bull supremo with Daily Mail. Horner claimed there have been “several conversations over the years about Lewis joining.”
Horner went on that the camp of Hamilton reached out to them a couple of time as to whether or not there would be any interest in the driver. But then again, Red Bull declined the offer as they didn’t see any chemistry between Max Verstappen and Hamilton. Likewise, he cleared out they are already “100 percent happy” with their existing lineup.
Additionally, Horner doubled down on the previous rumors about Hamilton contacting Ferrari as well. He pointed out that the decorated F1 driver met with Ferrari Chairman John Elkann in Monaco back in May.
Mercedes F1 has already denied the issues thrown around regarding Hamilton’s possible contact with the key officials of other F1 teams for a likely shift, referring to them as strategic manipulation to stir the dynamics of the team and gain publicity along the way.
End Notes
Whether or not Lewis Hamilton really contacted other teams really does not matter now that he already extended his contract with Mercedes F1. Although the driver looking for alternatives may paint Mercedes in a bad light, we personally think that it’s his prerogative to explore better opportunities and should not be taken against him. What really matters today is he stayed and he is doing his best work so far despite the mechanical issues hounding his W14.
