© Steve Etherington for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd.
Christian Horner says he encouraged Mercedes’ Niki Lauda to sign Lewis Hamilton, but adds “it would be fair to say that backfired on me”.
Red Bull team boss Christian Horner says he had several conversations Lewis Hamilton in early 2010s, regarding the Briton’s possible move from McLaren to Red Bull.
“Lewis and I have had a couple of conversations over the years,” Horner told the Daily Mail.
“From 2010 to 2013, he was very keen to come and drive for Red Bull. We had Sebastian at that time and to have had two alpha drivers wouldn’t have made sense.”
Horner then reveals he encouraged Mercedes’ non-executive chairman at the time, Niki Lauda, to sign Lewis.
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“Niki Lauda was at Mercedes and was very keen to take Lewis and I remember encouraging him to take him.
“We were fighting McLaren and 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,” Horner concluded.
It should be noted that Horner admits here that his ‘advice’ was actually driven by his own self-interest to remove Lewis from McLaren, instead of a genuine wish to help Lauda.
