Horner reveals Hamilton has HELD TALKS with Red Bull

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has admitted he held talks with Lewis Hamilton in the past about signing for his team but confirmed he will not be joining up now to partner Max Verstappen.

The seven-time world champion's future still remains uncertain despite recent indications that a new Mercedes contract is close to being signed.

Hamilton, as it stands, is out of contract at the end of the 2023 season and has been linked with moves elsewhere on the grid with Ferrari thought of as a possible candidate.

Red Bull have also been suggested and given Sergio Perez's current struggles, with the Mexican failing to make it into Q3 for four races running, they could have a vacant seat at the end of the season.

When asked about the possibility of Horner creating a so-called "super team" by snaffling Hamilton to be a team-mate of Max Verstappen, the Red Bull supremo dismissed the idea but did say there had been talks in the past.

READ MORE: F1 drivers out of contract: Hamilton heads select group

Horner: We couldn't pay Lewis and Max

“It’s nothing we’ve ever considered in the recent past,” Horner told the press on Friday. “I mean obviously to pay for those two drivers in itself, you’d probably have to sell the factory!

“Lewis is obviously a great driver – hopefully he will be around for many years to come. There’s been a couple of occasions in history we’ve had a couple of conversations about the possibility of joining Red Bull but that’s not been any time recently.”

Horner added that Hamilton was very keen to join the team in the early 2010s when Sebastian Vettel was dominating the sport, during which he won four successive titles.

The 49-year-old thinks the dynamic wouldn't have worked, saying: “From 2010 to 2013, he was very keen to come and drive for Red Bull. We had Sebastian at that time and to have had two alpha drivers wouldn’t have made sense.”

READ MORE: Christian Horner: The Red Bull giant and ‘Drive to Survive’ star

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