Hamilton Inquired About Joining Red Bull Ahead Of 2023 Season According To Horner

Thursday, 23 November 2023 at 14:00

Updated at Thursday, 23 November 2023 at 14:53

Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner revealed that Lewis Hamilton's team reached out earlier in 2023 with an inquiry about the second seat in Red Bull.

Mercedes F1 driver Lewis Hamilton signed a new contract with his team earlier this year to continue racing alongside George Russell until the end of season 2025.

However, it wasn't so clear whether Hamilton would sign with Mercedes. His team struggled to produce a Championship-contending car for the past two seasons, and the seven-time World Champion wants to go for the eighth title.

The contract talks with Mercedes did take a bit longer than expected, but in the end, Hamilton signed, and the team came to an agreement.

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While his team principal, Toto Wolff, said there was never an inch of doubt in his mind on whether Hamilton would stay with his team, Christian Horner recently revealed there were some talks between the Red Bull and the British driver. He told the Daily Mail:

"We have had several conversations over the years about Lewis joining. They have reached out a few times. Most recently, earlier in the year, there was an inquiry about whether there would be any interest."

The Red Bull team principal also recently said that "having two extreme alphas" in the same team would tear it apart, and that is why they would not want Hamilton in their team. Horner continued:

"But I can't see Max and Lewis working out together. The dynamic wouldn't be right. We are 100 percent happy with what we have."

The Mercedes driver also met with Ferrari president John Elkann and thought the talks with the Italian team were quite serious.

"He met John Elkann, too. I think there were serious talks. It was around Monaco (in May). There were definitely conversations, perhaps with Vasseur, too. But certainly, with Elkann."

The seven-time World Champion has quite a history with Mercedes to the point where Wolff calls him part of the family, so it would be strange to see him change teams suddenly. Would you like to see Lewis Hamilton in a different team like Ferrari or Red Bull?