Hamilton denies approaching Horner, Red Bull: Says happy to race Verstappen in same car

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner recently claimed that seven-time world champion and Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton approached Red Bull about the possibility of joining the team earlier this year, before renewing the contract with his current employer. In a turn of events, Hamilton has slashed Horner’s claims, saying that he is just trying to create a new controversy.
Speaking ahead of the season’s final race this weekend in Abu Dhabi, Hamilton was asked about Horner’s comments. He said: “I’ve not approached Christian; I haven’t spoken to Christian for years and no one from my team has. I’ve checked with everyone, no one from my team has reached out to him.” The Briton went on to claim that it was Horner who had actually reached out to him about meeting at the end of the season!

“And I was like, ‘I hope you are well; I wish you all the best, congratulations on an amazing season so far, and I hope that I am able to compete with you in the near future.” The Mercedes racing driver said that he would be more than happy to race against reigning world champion Max Verstappen in the same car, but he doesn’t think that the Red Bull driver wants him to be his teammate.
Horner had similar thoughts on a possible pairing of Verstappen and Hamilton – who combined have 10 world championships, and are undoubtedly the best drivers on the current grid. Considering that Verstappen is the poster boy for Red Bull, it would make no sense to bring in someone with the stature of Hamilton since he wouldn’t want to settle for anything less than the top spot – which isn’t vacant at the Milton Keynes outfit, at least until the end of 2028.