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“He Reached Out to Me”: Lewis Hamilton Levels Counter Allegations Against Christian Horner Over Disruptive Confession

Published 11/23/2023, 7:23 AM EST

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Can you imagine a world where Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen were teammates? How disruptive would that have been? Turns out, it could’ve been an actual possibility. At least, that’s what Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner admitted to recently. In an interview with Daily Mail, Horner said, “We have had several conversations over the years about Lewis joining. [Hamilton’s team] have reached out a few times. Most recently, earlier in the year, there was an inquiry about whether there would be any interest.” Earlier this year, Hamilton was linked to Ferrari. Per what Horner revealed, the seven-time champion was having conversations with the reigning champions as well. Hamilton, though, begged to differ.

During Media Day at the Abu Dhabi GP, Lewis Hamilton gave his thoughts on the subject. He first addressed the comment Horner made about Hamilton’s team reaching out to Red Bull. “I know [the story] has come from Christian. So 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 in years,” said Hamilton.

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Then, Hamilton set the record straight by revealing that it was Horner who contacted him. However, he did reach out to me earlier in the year about meeting up. But that’s it.” Unlike his in-person meeting with Ferrari chairman John Elkann, Hamilton’s conversation with Horner never tuned into anything more. The Mercedes driver even alluded to the fact that Horner and Red Bull have an affinity for such rumors. “You know Christian. He loves that kind of stuff.” 

After Trashing $49M Ferrari Offer, Lewis Hamilton Faced Cruel Red Bull Rejection for Max Verstappen’s Sake

Remember how, a few weeks ago, Fernando Alonso was linked to the Bulls? Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko suspected Alonso started the rumor himself. Considering what Hamilton said about Horner, could Red Bull have started the speculations itself? Be that as it may, Hamilton gave his thoughts on the possibility of racing for Red Bull.

Red Bull isn’t appealing to Lewis Hamilton

The Milton-Keynes team has done an amazing job this season. The RB19 has been near-invincible, with Max Verstappen winning 18 of the 21 races so far. Red Bull has won 20 of them. Since 2022, Mercedes hasn’t been the team it used to be in the turbo-hybrid. It hasn’t won a race in more than a year, and compared to Red Bull, 2023 has been a nightmare for the Brackley outfit. Despite that, Lewis Hamilton chose to stick with the team.

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When asked if he’d like to compete against Verstappen in equal machinery, Hamilton said, “100% would be more than happy to race against him in an equal car.” But that doesn’t mean he wants to shift to Red Bull. he explained his reasoning for sticking with Mercedes. “I think moving from a car that’s not so great to a winning car, from my perspective, that’s not a dream. The dream is always to start where we kind of are and build up to then winning. That’s why I stayed with Mercedes,” explained the seven-time champion.

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Can you ever see Christian Horner’s disruptive confession coming true? Do you think Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen would work as teammates?

WATCH THIS STORY | Lewis Hamilton dismisses beef with Max Verstappen

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Written by:

Aditi Krishnan

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One take at a time

"I don't know who I would've been if I didn't love sports as much as I do." I'm Aditi, and I'm a senior F1 Writer at EssentiallySports. For F1 and me, it was love at first sight back in 2020.
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Edited by:

Aishwary Gaonkar