Christian Horner has claimed Red Bull held secret talks with Lewis Hamilton in 2012, months before his landmark move to Mercedes.
The Brit made the then-shocking move to leave McLaren, the team that signed him as a teenager and raised him to the level of Formula 1 driver.
After missing out on the title in his debut year by one point, Hamilton’s next season in 2008 saw him win the World Championship, cementing and adorning the union between driver and team.
But with Red Bull starting to dominate, Hamilton’s momentum of being a title contender began to drift, and was ultmately lured to Mercedes, replacing the retiring Michael Schumacher.
But in his autobiography, Drive, the former Red Bull Team Principal says a phone call from Hamilton’s father, Anthony, led to a meeting at Adrian Newey’s house near Ascot. Hamilton was there and, according to Horner, wanted to leave McLaren for Red Bull.
“Lewis Hamilton seemed to be losing heart at McLaren,” Horner wrote.
“From the outside, his relationship with Jenson Button looked strained, and his head was dropping after a series of mechanical failures throughout 2012. I occasionally bumped into him at races, and we were always friendly [despite his comment about Red Bull being just a drinks company], but I thought he seemed strangely vulnerable for a former world champion.
“Then, while checking my phone for missed calls and messages one day, I noticed his father’s number on the screen and wondered whether Lewis was experiencing a change of opinion regarding Red Bull.
“When a secret meeting was then called, with Lewis, at Adrian’s house near Ascot, my gut instinct was confirmed. He was looking to leave McLaren, and we were his preferred destination.
“‘What will it take to join you guys?’ he said, as we sat down.
“Adrian, who is not known for his poker face, looked ecstatic. I could hardly blame him. A driver pairing of Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton was a tantalising prospect.”
Horner, though, ran into two problems. The first was money. With a World Champion in Vettel already on the payroll, Horner says signing Hamilton would have required “staggering sums”.
“[By 2012] Lewis had transformed into an iconic figure, having won four races during his 2007 debut season with McLaren,” Horner wrote.
“Five years on, he was an elite racer known for his explosive pace, and arguably one of the competition’s fastest ever drivers. He was the 2008 world champion, the winner of seventeen grands prix, and the holder of nineteen pole positions.
“As a driver, he was fantastic in the wet, fearless, and able to extract the absolute maximum from his car. He was also a commercial dream. Lewis was the face of countless billboard campaigns and TV adverts. Overall, he was just about the perfect challenger to Sebastian.
“Adrian, forever looking to improve the quality of drivers at Red Bull, was particularly enthusiastic. I couldn’t blame him.
“Of course, the stumbling block was money. Any deal that brought Lewis to Red Bull would require staggering sums, especially as he was represented by Simon Fuller.”
Helmut Marko ‘unimpressed’ by Lewis Hamilton Red Bull talks
The second obstacle, he says, was Marko.
“Certainly, Helmut looked unimpressed when he heard the news,” Horner wrote. “Lewis’ arrival would likely impact Sebastian, his protégé, and he was clearly feeling apprehensive.
“Intrigued, I tested the waters anyway. Simon was known to be a softly spoken person, but his opening gambit caused my ears to ring. ‘You and I can do the biggest sports deal since Muhammad Ali,’ he said boldly.
“I laughed, having grown familiar with the sports-agent vernacular. Simon was going to make a lot of money. And Red Bull would have to spend a fortune.
“Despite the undeniable marketing upside, I didn’t pursue the idea with any real forcefulness. But the Lewis deal was going to appeal to someone. And I had a good idea of who that someone might be.”
That someone, Horner said, was Niki Lauda.
“Niki’s Mercedes team was desperate for success,” Horner wrote. “Having bought Brawn GP in 2010, they then spent two years struggling in midfield, where their only victory had come in the 2012 Chinese Grand Prix with Nico Rosberg.
“However, if Mercedes could finance a deal for Lewis, replacing the retiring Michael Schumacher with one of the most exciting drivers of the moment, they would undoubtedly improve.
“Bernie viewed the switch as an exciting story for Formula One. But Niki seemed uncertain. He worried that the financial outlay might be prohibitive for Mercedes, especially as Simon Fuller was looking to make a groundbreaking arrangement, so I suggested that he underwrite the contract himself.
“If a deal was agreed, Niki would likely make his money back through the sale of merchandise alone.”
Hamilton joined Mercedes in 2013. The move produced one of the most successful partnerships in the sport’s history, yielding six world titles and 84 race victories.
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