Lewis Hamilton still isn’t ‘over’ F1 row involving Christian Horner and it could prevent Ferrari move

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Christian Horner has been strongly linked with Ferrari in recent days, which raises the prospect of the axed Red Bull boss working with Lewis Hamilton. But Rebecca Clancy doesn’t think the partnership could work.

In theory, Hamilton and Horner would be one of the most potent duos the sport has ever seen. The former has won eight drivers’ titles, while the latter has delivered six constructors’ crowns.

Horner was starting his third year at Red Bull when a rookie Hamilton arrived in 2007. They would become competitors at the start of the following decade, with the rivalry peaking in the infamous 2021 season.

Hamilton has never had a lasting ‘personal’ problem with his compatriot, but the history between the two throws up some awkward obstacles. Ferrari have held talks with Horner, but they may face resistance from their superstar driver if they try to proceed with the move.

Lewis Hamilton has no ‘personal’ issue with Christian Horner – but he’s not over Abu Dhabi 2021

Speaking to talkSPORT, Clancy recalled that the atmosphere between Horner’s Red Bull squad and Hamilton’s Mercedes team turned ‘nasty’ during 2021. The ‘bad blood’ persists to this day.

Horner’s rivalry with Toto Wolff was the most intense, but Clancy says every Mercedes employee is still processing the events of Abu Dhabi, along with Hamilton.

Perhaps out of loyalty to his former team, where he won six titles across 12 seasons, Hamilton might object to the proposed move.

Clancy said: “That stems back to the 2021 season that I was just talking about, where things got pretty nasty between Mercedes, where Lewis was at the time, and Red Bull, where Christian Horner was the team principal.

“There was a lot of bad blood. I’m not sure anyone at Mercedes has really gotten over the result from Abu Dhabi in 2021, including Lewis himself.

• READ MORE: Lewis Hamilton responded with a ‘severe look’ when he was asked one question about 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

“Ferrari are not performing well now, which is where a lot of this speculation has come from that perhaps Christian Horner could come in. He was very successful in his 20 years [at Red Bull].

“But I think there’s too much bad blood between Hamilton and not necessarily Horner personally, but between Red Bull and Mercedes, I just don’t think that relationship would work at all.”

Christian Horner’s top driver target if he becomes Ferrari boss

Hamilton is also supportive of Fred Vasseur, whose job would appear to be at risk if Horner arrives.

Horner wants to be a chief executive rather than a team principal, but it’s easy to envisage a power struggle with Vasseur in that context. After his internal battles with Helmut Marko at Red Bull, he’ll want absolute authority.

That will include driver line-up decisions. One recent report claims Horner would ‘immediately’ go after Max Verstappen despite past disputes with the world champion’s father.

Hamilton’s Ferrari contract expires at the end of 2026, so his feelings may only be a short-term consideration in John Elkann’s decision-making.