Hamilton held secret Red Bull talks in 2012, Horner says
NXTbets Pro | Published On: October 20, 2026
Hamilton Red Bull talks
Christian Horner says Lewis Hamilton held a secret meeting with Red Bull in 2012, a passage that adds a new layer to the story. In his autobiography, “Drive,” Horner writes that the meeting took place at Adrian Newey’s home near Ascot and that Hamilton wanted to know what it would take to join the team. Red Bull’s leadership was excited by the possibility of pairing Hamilton with Sebastian Vettel.
Horner also says the timing mattered. He wrote that Hamilton was unsettled at McLaren and looking for a different path. Red Bull saw the chance to put two championship-caliber drivers in the same garage. Helmut Marko, though, was wary about the effect Hamilton could have on Vettel, which gave the discussions an immediate internal tension. Horner writes that the team ultimately stepped away from the move because it would have required staggering sums of money.
The deal never happened, and Hamilton moved on the next year. He joined Mercedes in 2013 and went on to win six more world championships there. He later built a dominant run at Mercedes before moving to Ferrari in 2025. Horner’s account is of a meeting that never became a deal.
Horner Mercedes offer
Horner’s book also reaches deeper into his own career path, including a long-ago offer from Mercedes. He writes that Niki Lauda once offered him the Mercedes team principal role more than a decade ago. Horner says that offer came after he had spoken with Hamilton, who was looking to leave McLaren at the time.
That detail links the two tracks in the story. Hamilton was exploring his options, while Horner says he chose loyalty to Red Bull.
Horner turned down the job because he felt committed to Dietrich Mateschitz and Red Bull. That decision kept him at Red Bull while Mercedes later appointed Toto Wolff. The timing matters because Wolff has held the role since 2017.
The sequence in Horner’s account shows how closely linked the leading teams and drivers were during that period. Hamilton, Mercedes, Red Bull and Vettel all sat inside the same conversation, even when the public saw them as separate storylines. Horner’s version brings those threads together and shows how private talks can shape what happens next on the grid.
Horner legacy
Horner’s memoir also underlines the scale of what he achieved by staying with Red Bull. He remained with the team until 2025, guiding it through years of title success. His record at Red Bull includes five drivers’ championships and three constructors’ championships.
That success gives extra weight to the decisions he describes in “Drive.” Declining Mercedes meant staying tied to Red Bull. Missing out on Hamilton meant Red Bull never got the chance to test the pairing that had intrigued its leadership. The team’s interest in Hamilton and its later restraint both sit inside the same broader story, one about balancing talent, money and team identity at the top of the sport.
Horner’s account does more than revisit old negotiations. It shows how private conversations shaped the decisions involving Red Bull, Hamilton and Mercedes.
