Red Bull chief Christian Horner has received further backlash after his comments on Lewis Hamilton.
Christian Horner has been labelled “very unprofessional” after revealing he held talks with Lewis Hamilton about joining his team. Former F1 driver Christijan Albers has called on the Red Bull team principal to be more “classy” following the revelation.
Horner revealed last week he spoke to Hamilton’s representatives before he signed a new contract with Mercedes. He has since stated it was the Brit’s father, Anthony, who reached out to him about the potential of taking Sergio Perez’s seat in 2024.
Hamilton denied the claims ahead of the weekend’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Albers doesn’t have an issue with whether the contact was made or not.
However, the Dutchman asserts that Horner ought to have kept it a secret. Albers stated on the F1 podcast of De Telegraaf: “You know whether it happened or not, that is actually not relevant at all, in a secretive way.
The professionalism you must project as a group is what matters. You don’t need this at all if you have managed such a large team and achieved such great outcomes as the team leader there.”
Albers claims that because of the possibility of it being leaked, drivers will now be hesitant to engage in exploratory talks with Red Bull. “I think it’s just not done,” he continued. To cut a long tale short, I simply think it’s very unprofessional.
“You need to be mindful of style and keep this in the living rooms. You should not disclose such information because other drivers are now aware of it and will be cautious if they are a member of a top team, such as Mercedes or Ferrari, and they start talking to another team.”
Horner maintains that the story has been exaggerated and has denied any wrongdoing. “It’s amazing the fuss that has come out of this,” he said to Sky Sports. An exchange is not out of the ordinary.
Since I’ve known Anthony Hamilton for fifteen or sixteen years, we inevitably talk to each other during the season. This appears to have been read into quite a bit.
“I had a conversation. Anthony is a pleasant man. He made contact—I believe, but I’m not sure—about Sergio and merely posed an inquisitive and provocative question.
“I’m not sure what part Anthony plays in Lewis’ organization or supervision, but he has a relationship of some kind. I doubt he was asking to come and drive because he was curious about himself.”
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