Following up on his widely denied assertion that Red Bull was approached by Lewis Hamilton’s entourage regarding a possible switch, Christian Horner has now stated that he has had discussions with the British driver.
Although he acknowledges that a Ferrari transfer has never come close to happening, Frederic Vasseur has disclosed that he has regular talks with Lewis Hamilton
The seven-time world champion committed two more years of his Formula 1 future to Mercedes earlier this year. But before putting pen to paper on that deal, there was plenty of talk that he was shopping around.
A report that Ferrari were prepared to offer Hamilton £50m to join them was never confirmed. And Christian Horner’s claim that the Brit’s entourage contacted Red Bull over a potential switch has been disputed too
One thing Ferrari team principal Vasseur is certain about is that contact between himself and Hamilton is certainly nothing new. “I’m talking with Lewis each week or each month for 20 years,” he told reporters at an event at the team’s Maranello base.
I can’t say that I didn’t speak with Lewis at one stage because we are always in contact. And that’s true with most of the grid because most of the grid drove for me in the past and it’s not because of that.
“I had a discussion in Baku, in the paddock we had a discussion with Lewis and then it started to go everywhere. But if he signed a contract with me each time that we spoke in the past then it would have cost me a fortune!”
Vasseur’s admission comes after Red Bull team principal Horner caused a stir at the end of the season by claiming Hamilton’s team had reached out over a potential switch before signing his new Mercedes deal. The Brit later denied doing so when quizzed on the subject by reporters.
Yet, Horner later double down when interrogated regarding it himself on live TV. The 50-year-old asserted it was Hamilton’s dad who had been the one to reach out for his child’s sake prior in the year.
He said: “astonishing the fight’s emerged from this. It’s typical for there to be a trade. I’ve known Anthony Hamilton for 15, 16 years so definitely there’s much of the time a trade throughout the span of a season. In any case, there’s a considerable amount that appears to have been added something extra to this.
“Anthony is a decent person, he connected in regards to Sergio [Perez] and recently asked and enquired. I don’t have any idea which job Anthony plays in Lewis’ set-up or the executives, yet he has some type of a relationship. I don’t think he was enquiring about himself to come and drive.”
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