Christian Horner has been labelled “very unprofessional” after revealing he held talks with Lewis Hamilton about joining his team. Former F1 driver Christijan Albers has called on the Red Bull team principal to be more “classy” following the revelation.
Horner revealed last week he spoke to Hamilton’s representatives before he signed a new contract with Mercedes. He has since stated it was the Brit’s father, Anthony, who reached out to him about the potential of taking Sergio Perez’s seat in 2024.
Hamilton denied the claims ahead of the weekend’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Albers doesn’t have an issue with whether the contact was made or not.
But the Dutchman says it is something that Horner should have kept under wraps. Speaking on De Telegraaf’s F1 podcast, Albers said: “You know whether it happened or not, that is actually secretly not relevant at all.
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“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.”
Albers says drivers will now hesitate in having explorative conversations with Red Bull with the prospect of it being leaked. He added: “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.”
Horner has denied any wrongdoing and insists the story has been blown out of proportion. He told Sky Sports: “It’s amazing the fuss that’s come out of this. 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.”
