Christian Horner claimed Lewis Hamilton reached out to Red Bull over possibly joining F1 rival Max Verstappen for 2024 before signing a new contract with Mercedes
Lewis Hamilton is sure Max Verstappen would hate going up against him in the same car.
Christian Horner dropped a bomb on the eve of this weekend’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix by claiming Hamilton contacted his team over a potential switch. But the seven-time world champion came out fighting and accused the Red Bull team principal of “stirring things”.
The tantalizing prospect of seeing Hamilton and Verstappen compete for the same team would have resulted from such a deal. Although fans would find it exciting at the box office, Hamilton is certain that his opponent would not be pleased with the circumstances.
The Mercedes driver made a brief jab at the Red Bull racer in the Abu Dhabi paddock, saying, “I don’t know if there’s a bond, but I’d be more than happy to race against Max in the same car.” “But I don’t think he wants me to be his team-mate,” he continued.
Hamilton had previously refuted rumors in the TV pen that he was considering leaving Mercedes before agreeing to a two-year contract extension earlier this year. “I’m not really sure where that story came from,” he remarked. Since no one from my team has spoken to him as far as I know, I have no idea what he is talking about. It’s been years since I’ve really spoken to him.
“He did make contact with me about getting together earlier in the year, but that’s all. I wished to fight Red Bull in the upcoming years and congratulated him on an incredible year. There was no more private conversation after that.
“I believe he is just stirring things up because he enjoys doing that.” While I would be more than delighted to race against Max in a car of equal caliber, I do not consider it a dream to go from a subpar car to a winning one.
“My dream is to start where we are right now and work my way up to victory. I stuck with Mercedes for that reason. Any driver would be honored to work for such a wonderful group of people as Red Bull; they have done an incredible job and are an amazing team.”
In response to a question concerning the prospect of facing Hamilton in the same vehicle, Verstappen was brash. “What would knowing add? It isn’t taking place. His first reaction was, “You know there’s no point to make up stories if it’s not happening.”
Under pressure, the Dutchman clarified that he would not hesitate to challenge any of his competitors in the same vehicle in the future. “I wouldn’t mind,” he continued. It doesn’t really matter which driver.”
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