Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said that in early 2023 Lewis Hamilton was interested in the possibility of moving to the Austrians. The former champion, who in recent years has been talking about his devotion to Mercedes, was forced to make excuses, and even Max Verstappen had to answer questions about the theoretical arrival of the Briton.
Let’s find out what’s going on and why we’re unlikely to see Lewis at Red Bull.
Did you ask or not?
“We discussed the transfer of Lewis. They contacted me several times. And the last time, at the beginning of this year, they asked if there was any interest,” Horner suddenly told the Daily Mail. — He also met with John Elkann (President of Ferrari. — Note from the “Championship”). I think there were serious negotiations there. It was in the Monaco area. Vasser (Ferrari team leader – Championship Note) probably also participated. But surely he spoke to Elkann.”
According to Horner, it turns out that Hamilton, seeing that Mercedes was unable to get back into championship contention in the off-season, began working on alternative options. Furthermore, it was in Monaco that the German team presented an updated chassis, in which it abandoned the failed “zero pontoon” concept. So Lewis didn’t even then have much faith in his engineers?
Lewis Hamilton before the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Photo: Clive Rose/Getty Images
The British himself affirms that nothing similar happened. “I don’t know where he came from. I don’t understand what Christian is talking about. As far as I know, no one on my team contacted him. “I haven’t spoken to him personally for a number of years,” Hamilton told Sky Sports. “But he contacted me this year.” I just congratulated them and said I hope to compete with them soon, that’s all. “I think Christian got something mixed up.”
However, the BBC later reported that Lewis’s father, Anthony Hamilton, had been in contact with Red Bull. At the same time, it is worth noting that during the Monaco Grand Prix, Sergio Pérez still did not have the problems that he encountered later. Only a couple of months later they began to discuss in the paddock that the Mexican was not good enough for the championship team. That is, neither Hamilton nor anyone else had a real chance of moving to Red Bull at that time, because the contract with Checo for 2024 was signed back in 2022.
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Lewis doesn’t need Red Bull
However, judging by Horner’s words, even if Perez was out of contract and Milton Keynes decided to replace him, Hamilton still would not have received a place at Red Bull. “I can’t imagine Max and Lewis working together. The dynamics would not be the same. “We are 100% happy with what we have,” said the team leader in the same interview with the Daily Mail.
During Christian’s years of work at Red Bull, there was already a situation when the drivers did not work together and fought with each other: in 2010-2013, when Mark Webber was paired with Sebastian Vettel. The Australian was often inferior to his German teammate, but was not yet ready to accept the number two status, and fights broke out within the team from time to time. Obviously, Hamilton would not accept the number two status with Verstappen and therefore the Austrians, in principle, do not expect Lewis.
Pérez and Horner during the Brazilian Grand Prix
Photo: Mark Thompson/Getty Images
It is logical. When a team fights in the middle of the pack, it needs riders to push each other and work together to score as many points as possible. But when it comes to the kind of dominance Red Bull has, not even Sergio Perez’s problematic performances are stopping the Austrians from winning the Constructors’ Championship. But, as they say, good is not sought from good.
By the way, the pilots themselves are not against fighting against each other in the same team. “I wouldn’t mind,” Verstappen said when he was asked about Hamilton. “I’m ready to compete with any driver on the grid.” “100%, of course. “I would love to compete with him on equal technique,” said Lewis, in turn. — Red Bull did an incredible job, they are a great team. But going from a not so strong car to a champion is not what I dreamed of. The dream is to start where we are now and grow until we achieve victory. And that’s why I stay at Mercedes.
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What does Hamilton expect?
In the 2023 season, the German team has one last battle left. Their drivers decided their positions in the general classification ahead of schedule: Hamilton came third, Russell will no longer climb higher than eighth (and will not drop lower). But in the fight for second place in the Constructors’ Championship, only four points separate Mercedes and Ferrari.
The benefits of this victory are not many: several million dollars in prizes. On the other hand, the loser will spend more time in the wind tunnel, making the victory less valuable. Furthermore, since each additional session is an opportunity to reduce the gap with Red Bull.
The battle between Mercedes and Ferrari is the main intrigue of the season finale
Photo: Alex Pantling/Getty Images
In the paddock, when discussing who could challenge Austrian dominance, McLaren has often been mentioned in recent weeks. Ferrari looked relatively good in Las Vegas: the Scuderia is sometimes encouraging, and in qualifying in Las Vegas it was well above Red Bull. But “Mercedes” appears less and less among the main hopes: the pace of German cars in the last races is too unstable.
However, they are the ones who can show the greatest progress. Mercedes, although it has changed the pontoons, continues to use a chassis designed with them in mind. And only with the 2024 car will it finally be able to get rid of the shortcomings of the original concept.
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