© LAT Images for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd
Sky Sports F1 reporter Craig Slater reached out to Red Bull and Mercedes to get their comments on the ‘Lewis Hamilton – Red Bull’ controversy.
Ahead of the 2023 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Christian Horner said that earlier this year Lewis Hamilton inquired about a possible seat with Red Bull.
Lewis has since completely denied the story, and said Horner was the one to reach out to him via text message.
Sky Sports F1 reporter Craig Slater said he reached out to Red Bull to find out more about the situation.
“I got in touch with Red Bull, they say: ‘Yes absolutely, Horner stands by this, that a known Hamilton representative made contact with him,’” Slater said.
“They wouldn’t specify how in-depth this contact was, particularly. But, it happened. That’s the interesting aspect to this.
“Lewis has ultimately re-signed with Mercedes for a couple of years, he did so in August. He did speak during the contract negotiation process, about not looking anywhere else.”
Slater says he also contacted Mercedes to get their comments.
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“So, I did get in touch with Mercedes who tell me they are relaxed, and not stressed about any of this.
“As far as they see it, they think it’s rather implausible, but it would be [reasonable], in their view, for a representative of Hamilton to go and see what else was out there, what future opportunities might be out there.
“But they’re not taking it particularly seriously. It is not, in any way, an issue between the team and Lewis, even if this did happen – which they’re not convinced it did.
“It could even be the case that Lewis didn’t know about this contact, necessarily.
“One insider, connected with the team, observed to me that this is Horner needing to use Lewis’ name to make headlines.
“Maybe this is friction arising between these rival teams. Horner has stirred the pot,” Slater concluded.
