Mercedes Team Principal Chips In On Feud Between Lewis Hamilton And Red Bull's Team Principal

Friday, 24 November 2023 at 18:00

Updated at Friday, 24 November 2023 at 18:53

Mercedes F1 team principal Toto Wolff reacted to the recent controversy about alleged Red Bull seat talks between Lewis Hamilton and Christian Horner.

Red Bull team principal decided to drop a bombshell ahead of the 2023 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix when he said there was an inquiry from Lewis Hamilton about "whether there would be an interest" at the beginning of 2023.

The statement spurred controversy in the paddock and among F1 fans who would not believe Hamilton would want to change Mercedes for Red Bull.

The seven-time World Champion responded by saying he had not talked to Horner for a very long time, and neither did his team. The Mercedes driver added it was the Red Bull team principal himself who tried to arrange a meeting with him.

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Speaking to the media at Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, Mercedes F1 team principal Toto Wolff chimed in on the controversy:

"We don't understand what he's thinking to come up with these things. So what happened is that Christian, through an agency that we work with, wanted to have contact details to speak about the seat."

By saying it was Christian Horner who tried to reach out to the seven-time World Champion, Wolff confirmed Hamilton's story. The Austrian added:

"That's how the whole thing went, it was Christian inquiring about Lewis' availability. It was not about a seat, it was just 'blah.' I've seen it. So I don't know what drives him to come up with this."

While it is not clear whether Hamilton wanted to speak with Horner, it is clear that he spoke with Ferrari's president, John Elkann, earlier this year before the Mercedes driver signed a new contract with his team.

Nevertheless, his team principal said there was never an inch of doubt in his mind about whether Lewis Hamilton would stay with Silver Arrows.