Sir Lewis Hamilton has accused Christian Horner of stirring the pot after the Red Bull boss claimed the Formula One legend reached out to him about moving from Mercedes to Red Bull.
In an interview with the Daily Mail on Wednesday, Horner said that a representative of Hamilton had approached Red Bull earlier this year, enquiring about the possibility of driving alongside Max Verstappen.
He said: ‘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.
‘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.’
The first half of the year was dominated by speculation that the seven-time champion could leave Mercedes, but he always maintained his commitment to the Silver Arrows, eventually signing a new contract in August that will run until 2025.
Hamilton has not won a race for two years and after Verstappen controversially pipped him to the 2021 title, he’s had to watch the Dutchman and Red Bull dominate the sport.
Nevertheless, the 38-year-old says he has never had any intention of leaving his current team for Red Bull and accused Horner of lying ahead of this weekend’s season finale in Abu Dhabi.
‘I don’t really know where that story has come from. I mean I know it’s come from Christian…’ the Brit told Sky Sports.
‘I don’t really understand what he’s been talking about because no one, as far as I’m aware, from my team has spoken to him. I haven’t spoken to Christian really in years.
‘However, he did reach out to me earlier on in the year about meeting up, but that’s it. I just congratulated them on an amazing year and said, “hopefully soon, I’ll be able to fight against you guys in the near future”. That was it.
‘So I’m not really sure, I think he’s just stirring things. There aren’t any confidential discussions. You know Christian, he loves that kind of stuff.
‘100 per cent I’d be more than happy to race against him [Verstappen] in an equal car. Red Bull have done an amazing job and they’re an incredible team and any driver would love to drive for such a great group of people.
‘Moving from a car that’s not so great to a winning car – from my perspective that’s not a dream. The dream is to start where we are and move up to then winning and that’s why I’m staying with Mercedes.’
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