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Christian Horner revealed that Lewis Hamilton almost signed with Red Bull Racing between 2010 and 2013. The seven-time world champion, however, was rejected as the team did not want two ace drivers in its line-up.
In an exclusive interview with the Daily Mail, the Red Bull team principal revealed:
“Lewis [Hamilton] and I have had a couple of conversations over the years. From 2010 to 2013, he was very keen to come and drive for Red Bull. But, we had Sebastian [Vettel] at that time, and to have had two alpha drivers wouldn’t have made sense.”
According to Horner, Lewis Hamilton was keen on securing a drive with the team while he was still at McLaren. He also revealed that they were not keen on two star drivers since they already had Sebastian Vettel with them. The British team principal also disclosed that he had convinced Niki Lauda, who was at Mercedes, to hire the Stevenage-born driver instead.
Horner revealed his role in helping Mercedes recruit the British champion, saying:
“Niki Lauda was at Mercedes and was very keen to take Lewis and I remember encouraging him to take him. We were fighting McLaren in 2012. They had the fastest car and we felt that Lewis in a McLaren would be more of a threat than in a Mercedes. I encouraged Niki to spend the money as Lewis was wavering a little bit. It would be fair to say that backfired on me.”
Christian Horner believes beating Lewis Hamilton in a dominating Mercedes was the highlight of their 2021 victory
Christian Horner believes beating Lewis Hamilton in a dominant Mercedes made the 2021 championship victory even more special. The Red Bull team principal believes the 2021 victory has influenced their confidence to achieve more victories in 2022 and the future.
Commenting on the 2021 championship fight against Hamilton, Horner said:
“The sense of achievement to beat that mighty Mercedes machine with Lewis as part of it was huge. The whole organisation gets used to winning and it’s like a drug. It’s addictive. And then there’s the fear of failure. It drives you because you want to experience that feeling again and again.”
While the current Red Bull and Mercedes rivalry is not as similar to that in 2021, a resurgence in performances from the Silver Arrows could worry the Milton Keynes-based outfit towards the end of the season. Nevertheless, the current championship standings have the former leading the latter by 127 points with nine races remaining on the calendar.
