Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton’s future has been the centre of attraction in recent weeks, with the seven-time world champion yet to commit his future at the Silver Arrows despite his contract running out at the end of the season.
The Stevenage-born driver’s marketability and phenomenal racing record means that he is naturally a target for all big teams on the grid, with a move to Ferrari also rumoured to be on the cards.
The Maranello had reportedly even put together a $55 million deal to rope the British driver ahead of the upcoming season.
Red Bull, meanwhile, is dominating the field in recent times, with Max Verstappen looking likely to make it three consecutive world championships in a row at the end of 2023.
However, his relationship with teammate Sergio Perez is far from being the best, with the Dutchman reportedly requesting his team to find a replacement for the Mexican.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner, speaking with the media following the Austrian GP, admitted that he has held talks with Hamilton over a move to the Milton Keynes-based outfit.
Can Hamilton and Verstappen form super team at Red Bull?
Horner was asked about the prospect of Hamilton linking up with Verstappen to form a “super team” at Red Bull.
“It’s nothing we’ve considered in the recent past,” Horner said.
Horner confessed that the salary demands of both drivers would make it an astronomical ask for Red Bull.
“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 admitted that there was a possibility that Hamilton could have joined Red Bull in the early 2010s, the same period when Sebastian Vettel made his mark at the team, winning four back-to-back championships.
“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.”