Red Bull would never sign Lewis Hamilton to partner Max Verstappen due to the tension between the two and cost-related reasons, according to the team’s advisor Helmut Marko.
Ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Horner told the Daily Mail that a representative from Hamilton’s side had been in contact earlier in the year about a possible move to Red Bull.
But after Hamilton denied that his entourage had been in touch with Red Bull, Horner clarified that it had been the Briton’s father, Anthony, who had been the one to reach out.
Horner suggested that a blockbuster line-up of Hamilton alongside Verstappen wasn’t something Red Bull would consider as “the dynamic wouldn’t be right” in the team.
Marko, who also helps decide the drivers for both Red Bull sides, has concurred with Horner’s view, adding that the financial implications involved wouldn’t be plausible.
When asked by Autosport about the Horner and Hamilton saga, Marko said: “Christian informed me and showed me the text message he received, but I told him: ‘Hamilton and Max, that doesn’t work.’
“There was too much action and how should I say, in 2021, tension. And on the other hand, we cannot afford to have the two most expensive drivers in one team.
“It’s just never going to happen. So I told Christian: ‘No way.’”
Despite speculation throughout the past season, Hamilton eventually signed a two-year extension to remain at Mercedes along with George Russell until the end of 2025.
But while he has not won an F1 race since December 2021 and admits a Red Bull seat would be attractive, the seven-time champion remains committed to Mercedes.
“Well, I mean, I think hopefully signing has just shown my commitment to the team,” Hamilton addressed.
“I think let’s be realistic every single driver that’s racing here, dreams of being in the winning car. I think probably in my younger days when I hadn’t, maybe had a lot of success, maybe in those McLaren days it would have been a lot more attractive.
“When I think about just from a racing perspective and just kind of my viewpoint on things I obviously showing when I moved to this team, I enjoyed moving from a more successful team to a team that hadn’t had success with the vision of growing and building with the team because when we did, it was just such a better feeling.
“Whilst every driver here looks at the Red Bull car and would love to drive that car and I’m not saying that I wouldn’t love to drive that car and experience how good that car is, every driver would feel that.
“I feel like we’ve had two really difficult years and if we work towards being that car, that’s gonna be a way better feeling than stepping into just the best car. It wouldn’t do much for me in the sense of just stepping into the car that’s been the most dominant car of all time. Working with my team to build, to be able to beat them, I think would be better for my legacy for sure.
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