‘Very unprofessional' Horner slammed for Hamilton comments

Former Formula 1 driver Christijan Albers has criticised Christian Horner, describing his remarks about Lewis Hamilton as "very unprofessional."

Prior to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend, Horner revealed to the Daily Mail that Hamilton had explored potential opportunities with Red Bull before finalising his Mercedes contract.

However, Hamilton dismissed the Red Bull boss’s claims, stating that he had no idea where the story originated.

This prompted former driver Albers to criticise Horner on his approach of revealing this information, arguing that it was simply unprofessional.

"You know whether it happened or not, that is actually secretly not relevant at all,” said Albers on De Telegraaf’s F1 podcast. "What is relevant is the professionalism you have to exude as a team.

“If you have such a big team under your belt and you are team boss there with such good results, you don't need this at all. I think it's just not done. Long story short: I just find it very unprofessional.

“You have to make sure you are classy and that this stays within the living rooms. You shouldn't bring things like this out, because now other drivers do watch out, they will think twice if they are with a team like Ferrari or Mercedes or another top team and they start talking to another team."

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Horner’s response

During the Abu Dhabi race weekend, Horner later revealed that he had spoken with Anthony Hamilton, Hamilton's father, regarding the possibility of the British driver making a move.

However, Horner also addressed the significant media attention surrounding this information and expressed surprise at the fuss that had been made.

"It's amazing the fuss that's come out of this,” said Horner to Sky Sports. “It's not unusual for there to be an exchange.

"I've known Anthony Hamilton for 15-16 years, so inevitably there's often an exchange during the course of the season. There's quite a lot that seems to have been read into this.

"I had an exchange. Anthony's a nice guy. He reached out, I think, I can't remember, regarding around Sergio, and just asked an enquiring and suggestive question.

"I don't know what role Anthony plays in Lewis' setup or management, but he's got some form of relationship. I don't think he was enquiring about himself to come and drive."

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