Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has revealed that the Austrians spoke to Lewis Hamilton in the past over a potential move; however, not “anytime recently”.
The seven-time World Champion is currently negotiating a new contract with Mercedes, as his current deal expires at the end of the season.
Despite Hamilton and team boss Toto Wolff having stressed that a deal will be signed, no news on an extension has been announced so far.
Unsurprisingly, it’s led to speculation as to where Hamilton might find himself next season, especially after he was linked to Ferrari.
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It was reported that Ferrari were planning a swoop for Hamilton to replace Carlos Sainz, although both parties quashed any chances of a move.
He is expected to remain at Mercedes, something he’s keen on.
An idea which some fans have pondered though, is whether Red Bull could sign the 38-year-old to replace Sergio Perez, who’s failed to make Q3 at the past five races.
This would see Hamilton alongside 2021 rival and reigning World Champion Max Verstappen, something which is in many ways unimaginable.
Those keen to see the duo in the same team will have been left disappointed, after Horner joked that Red Bull would have to “sell the factory” to afford both Verstappen and Hamilton.
Despite the comical remark, Horner stressed that Red Bull aren’t thinking about a move for the Briton.
“It’s nothing that we’ve ever considered in the recent past,” Horner told media, including RacingNews365.com.
“Obviously, to pay for those two drivers in itself, we would probably have to sell the factory!”
Whilst Hamilton won’t be moving to Red Bull anytime soon, Horner did admit that the Milton Keynes-based outfit spoke to the driver many years ago, regarding a potential switch.
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Horner revealed that Red Bull have held a “couple of conversations” with the 103-time race winner, but not recently.
“Lewis is obviously a great driver. Hopefully, he’ll be around for many years to come,” Horner said.
“There’s been a couple of occasions in history that we’ve had a couple of conversations about the possibility of joining Red Bull, but that’s not been anytime recently.”