Lewis Hamilton denies Red Bull approach and accuses ‘lonely’ Christian Horner of ‘stirring’

Lewis Hamilton has accused Christian Horner of being “lonely” and of using his name to “stir things” after the Red Bull team principal claimed the seven-time world champion’s camp enquired about a seat alongside Max Verstappen at the grid’s all-conquering team.

Hamilton not only denied that suggestion, he claimed instead that it was Horner who contacted him earlier this year, before he put pen to paper on a new two-year deal with Mercedes.

Asked in Abu Dhabi ahead of this weekend’s season-ending grand prix whether he had approached Red Bull about joining them, Hamilton replied: “No. I did not. I have checked with everyone in my team and nobody has spoken to them. However, he [Horner] did reach out to me earlier on in the year about meeting up.

“I picked up my old phone which I found at home. It has my old number. I switched it on, and hundreds of messages came through, and one was from Christian to get together and have a catch-up at the end of the season.

“He didn’t say [it was about driving for them]. He just said about having a catch-up. I replied to him [Horner] on my new phone. It was quite late on that I found his message. It was from earlier on in the year, and it was months later [that I replied].

“I just said, ‘Congratulations on the amazing season and I hope we are able to compete with you soon’, and he replied repeating the same thing. If you really think about it, there are a lot of people here that like to drop my name in conversations because they know it will make waves and if you are a little bit lonely, and are not getting much attention, that is the perfect thing to do, just to mention my name. He is stirring things.”

‘I don’t think Verstappen wants me as a team-mate’

Hamilton did not deny that he desperately wanted to be back in a winning car. And the 38-year-old said that he would be “more than happy to race against Max in the same car”. But he added: “I don’t think he [Verstappen] wants me to be his team-mate.”

The British driver said he had spoken to Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff after Horner’s comments were made public on Wednesday.

“I have so much respect for Toto,” Hamilton said. “We have a great relationship. And I spoke to him when the story broke. I wanted my team to know [the truth] because if people think those things [about leaving] it is never positive. Hopefully signing with them has shown my commitment to the team.

“Let’s be realistic, every single driver here dreams of being in a winning car. In my younger days, when I had not had a lot of success, joining Red Bull would have been more attractive to me.

“We have had two really difficult years, and if we were able to beat that Red Bull, that would be a way better feeling than just stepping into the best car. That wouldn’t do much for me – stepping into a car that has been the most dominant of all time… But working with my team to beat them. That would be better for my legacy.”