Way before Mercedes became a force to be reckoned with, the Brackley outfit was a struggling team. Lewis Hamilton confused everyone with his decision to move to the team in 2013. Even though it turned out to be the right choice, the intention of the person masterminding the move was not to bring Hamilton immeasurable success.

We are all aware it was Niki Lauda who was keen to bring Hamilton on board ahead of the hybrid era. The Austrian world champion might’ve brokered the deal. However, it was Red Bull boss, Christian Horner, who pushed Niki Lauda to poach the Brit from championship contender McLaren.

Horner in an old interview revealed his intention behind pushing Hamilton’s move to Mercedes.

“Niki Lauda was at Mercedes and was very keen to take Lewis, and I remember encouraging him to take him. We were fighting McLaren and in 2012, they had the fastest car and we felt that Lewis in a McLaren would be more of a threat than in a Mercedes,” he revealed.

Not with Hamilton’s best intention at heart, Horner’s push made the move happen But it did not pan out as he thought. He admitted, “I encouraged Niki to spend the money, as Lewis was wavering a little bit. It would be fair to say that backfired on me.”

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The meddling definitely backfired on the Red Bull boss as it took them eight years to end Mercedes’s dominance. However, it could’ve been a completely different scenario, all in favor of Red Bull.

Lewis Hamilton could’ve joined Red Bull instead of Mercedes

For those who’re wondering why Christian Horner was influencing Niki Lauda in the first place, we have an answer for you as well. The young Brit, after struggling with McLaren, wanted to move away from the team. For Hamilton, Red Bull was an option, but not for Honer.

“Lewis and I have had a couple of conversations over the years. From 2010 to 2013, he was very keen to come and drive for Red Bull. We had Sebastian at that time and to have had two alpha drivers wouldn’t have made sense,” he explained.

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This is why the Red Bull boss meddled in Lewis Hamilton’s business. But we can surely learn from Christian Horner’s antics.