Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has revealed that Lewis Hamilton approached him on several occasions about joining the Milton Keynes based team, but was rejected.
Horner then admitted that he played a pivotal role in Hamilton moving to Mercedes – a move which has proven very successful, with the Briton securing a further two titles in the previous two years.
Hamilton, after several years of narrowly missing out on titles with McLaren, first approached Red Bull during the 2011 Canadian Grand Prix, but Horner admitted they couldn't take it further whilst their focus was on Sebastian Vettel.
"He wanted to drive for Red Bull," Horner told F1 Racing magazine. "It [Canada] wasn't the only time he approached us; he was desperate to drive for the team.
"In 2012, he wanted to come and drive for us, but there was no way we could accommodate him while Sebastian was with us. Then before he signed for Mercedes he was very keen to drive for Red Bull in 2013."
Horner then claimed he encouraged Niki Lauda to approach Hamilton about joining Mercedes, believing it would weaken a strong McLaren.
"The McLaren had been very competitive in 2011 and 2012 and I thought it would probably be better for us for him to be at Mercedes than McLaren," he added.
"In the event of us not being able to sign him I encouraged Niki Lauda to sign him to weaken McLaren – not envisaging that Mercedes would become the absolute powerhouse they are today."
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