Lewis Hamilton insists he was never going to join Red Bull despite the rumours as it will be better for his legacy if he wins with Mercedes rather than in the “most dominant car of all time”. The Englishman signed a two-year extension with the Silver Arrows in August amid links to a move elsewhere.
According to the Daily Mail, Hamilton held talks with Red Bull and Ferrari before putting pen to paper on a new contract with the Brackley-based team. Hamilton later denied these reports yet Red Bull principal Christian Horner was quick to rebuttal his claims by confirming that they had in fact held “several talks” with the seven-time world champion.
Horner also went on to add that Hamilton met with Ferrari chairman John Elkann in May while he was in discussions with Red Bull. Regardless the 38-year-old will remain at Mercedes until his 41st birthday.
It is likely that could have been Hamilton’s last chance at securing a money-spinning move to another big constructor so the commitment is significant. “I think the signing has demonstrated my commitment to the team,” said Hamilton when asked about the reports of him exploring his options earlier this year.
“Let’s be real, every driver who races here dreams of being in a winning car, and I think when I was younger when maybe I hadn’t had much success in my McLaren days, it was much more attractive.
“If I think about it from a competitive point of view, when I moved to this team, I liked moving from a more successful team to one that hadn’t had it, with the vision of growing and building as a team, because when we did it was a better feeling.
“Every driver here looks at Red Bull and would like to drive it, and I’m not saying I wouldn’t like it, because every driver would. We’ve had two difficult years, but if we work to be that car it will be a much better feeling than getting into the best car.
“It wouldn’t be much for me to get into the most dominant car of all time – he concluded – working with my team to build and be able to beat them, it would be better for my legacy .”
