Fred Vasseur says ‘complicated’ factor stopped Lewis Hamilton joining Red Bull

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Lewis Hamilton preferred a move to Ferrari over Red Bull because of his ‘complicated’ relationship with the reigning world champions, Fred Vasseur says.

Hamilton will leave Mercedes to join the Scuderia for the 2025 season, replacing Carlos Sainz.

Red Bull have won the last three drivers’ titles and the last two constructors’ crowns, but Vasseur says there was too much tension for Hamilton to join.

Hamilton has competed with the Bulls for much of his Formula 1 career, starting out in his days at McLaren when he battled Sebastian Vettel for glory.

However, things came to a head in the 2021 season when Hamilton scrapped it out with Max Verstappen for the top honours.

The two drivers collided at the British, Italian and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix, and were level on points heading into the final round in Abu Dhabi.

Verstappen won the race and the title, but the FIA later ruled that ‘human error’ meant the safety car restart rules weren’t properly enforced at the end of the race.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner claimed last year that Anthony Hamilton, Lewis’ father, had approached him over the possibility of a vacancy.

Sergio Perez is out of contract at the end of the 2024 season and faces a battle to retain his seat.

Fred Vasseur makes Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull admission

Speaking to it.motorsport, Vasseur admitted that Hamilton may have a better chance to win an eighth world championship at Red Bull than he would at Ferrari.

The Bulls have been a dominant force since the introduction of the new regulations in 2022, and the rules won’t change significantly again until 2026.

However, the Frenchman says he wasn’t ‘close’ enough to the Milton Keynes outfit to seriously consider racing in their colours.

“Until the end I tried to train everything so that it went well and then very quickly I sensed a real motivation in Lewis, because he was convinced that, perhaps after Red Bull, we were his best chance to win the title,” he said. “And that was motivation No. 1 for him.”

“This is where the planets aligned, because he is very motivated to win. I think he is a mega-champion who, despite the 103 victories, still has the same determination as when he had 0.

“He is very motivated, yes he works very hard, he is very demanding of himself and of the people around him.

“Today, when he looks around, he says that if he wants to be a champion, going to Red Bull risks being complicated, because they don’t have a close relationship.”

Hamilton relationship with Vasseur was key

Hamilton had appeared to commit his future to Mercedes when he signed a new two-year contract last August.

However, it’s since emerged that the deal included a break clause at the end of 2024, allowing the Briton to leave a year early should he so wish.

Vasseur, who worked Hamilton in the junior series before he got his break in F1 with McLaren, helped persuade him to leave the Silver Arrows.

BBC F1 writer suspects Mercedes boss Toto Wolff will be ‘hurt’ by that decision after so many years of working alongside the 39-year-old.

While he’s highly unlikely to win the title this year, Hamilton will at least hope to sign off with one last race victory for the team, having failed to land one in each of the last two seasons.