Red Bull team principal Christian Horner dropped a bomb before the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix by claiming Lewis Hamilton had enquired about an available seat before signing a new Mercedes deal
Lewis Hamilton admitted he’d “love” to drive Max Verstappen’s all-conquering Red Bull car – but has a reason why he’d prefer to beat the Dutchman in a Mercedes.
Hamilton and Red Bull were the major talking point of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend. That was thanks to Christian Horner, who claimed one of Hamilton’s entourage had contacted him to see if there might be any opportunities to join the team.
The claim was refuted by the seven-time world champion. However, Horner went further and stated that Hamilton’s father had contacted Mercedes before the British driver signed a new two-year contract extension.
He maintains that he has no desire to consider taking on a new challenge with a different team because of his “legacy” with the Silver Arrows. He acknowledged, though, that he would relish having Verstappen’s dominant machine on the grid, as he has had this year.
“I’ve demonstrated my commitment to the team by signing a new deal,” he stated. “Now let’s face it. Every driver competing here aspires to be in the victorious vehicle. It might have been much more appealing back in the McLaren days, when I was younger and hadn’t achieved much success.
“From a racing standpoint and my own perspective on things, I enjoyed coming to this team from a more successful team to one that hadn’t had success to a vision of growing and developing as a team, because it was such a better feeling when we did then win.”
“Every driver in this area admires the Red Bull vehicle and wishes they could operate it. While I’m sure that every driver would agree that it would be amazing to drive that particular vehicle and experience its superiority, I believe that since we’ve had two extremely challenging cars, striving to be that car will feel much better than just getting into the best one.
“It wouldn’t help me much in terms of getting into the greatest car ever made. It would undoubtedly be better for my legacy if I could defeat them with my team.”
Although team principal Toto Wolff acknowledges that Mercedes is taking a significant risk, the company hopes to provide Hamilton with the more competitive car he longs for in 2024. “We are changing the concept,” he declared. We are making a radical departure from the chassis, weight distribution, and airflow layout that we originally designed.
“Almost every single element is being altered because, in my opinion, that is the only way we have a chance. We might also be mistaken. Therefore, anything is possible, including not achieving our goals, catching up, taking a significant step, and competing at the top.”
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