Lewis Hamilton has refuted allegations of him seeking a potential transfer to Red Bull, labeling them as mere attempts for attention and pointing fingers at Christian Horner, the team’s principal, for instigating them.

Earlier this week, Horner mentioned that someone from the Hamilton team had reached out to discuss a potential seat with the current world champions, prior to the British driver signing a new contract with Mercedes.

According to Horner, Hamilton was approached and there was an inquiry earlier this year about potential interest, as reported by the Daily Mail.

Before the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix this weekend, the last race of the season, Hamilton completely denied the accusation.

He claimed that many individuals in this group enjoy mentioning my name during conversations because they are aware of the impact it will have. If you are feeling a bit isolated and crave attention, it’s common to bring up my name. Horner is creating controversy.

Hamilton refuted claims that anyone acting on his behalf had reached out and clarified that Horner had attempted to get in touch with him.

“I have consulted with all members of my team and none of them have communicated with them. However, he did contact me earlier this year to arrange a meeting,” he stated. “I retrieved my old phone, which I discovered at home. It contains my previous number. When I turned it on, I received hundreds of messages, including one from Christian suggesting we meet up for a catch-up at the end of the season.”

“Upon receiving a notification on my new phone, I responded to it after a weekend had passed. It was quite late when I discovered the message, which had actually been sent earlier in the year. Despite the delay of several months, I still took the time to congratulate the recipient on their impressive season and express hope for future competition. They responded with the same sentiment.”

Hamilton signed a new deal with Mercedes in August after a lengthy negotiation period. He has always insisted he expected to see out his career with the team and said he spoke to the team principal, Toto Wolff, to assure him there was no truth in the story as soon as Horner’s comments were reported.

The 38-year-old made it clear that he does not believe Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who is the current world champion with 18 wins out of 21 races this season, would want to be his teammate.

He expressed his enthusiasm for competing against Max in identical cars, stating that it would be a fantastic experience. However, he believes that Max does not want him as a teammate.

Verstappen has long since clinched his third title this season, while Hamilton and Mercedes have once more been off the pace. He has not won since Saudi Arabia in 2021 but insisted he wanted the satisfaction of coming back at his rivals by helping build Mercedes once more into a winning team.

“I think it’s safe to say that every driver here has the dream of being behind the wheel of a winning car,” he stated. “Back when I was younger and hadn’t achieved much success, the opportunity to join Red Bull would have been very appealing.”

“We have faced two challenging years and defeating Red Bull would bring a much greater sense of accomplishment than simply joining the best team. Taking over a car that has dominated the sport would not hold much significance for me, but working with my team to surpass them would leave a stronger mark on my legacy.”

Source: theguardian.com