During the 2012 season , Formula 1 was dominated by three teams, Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari, so it was almost impossible to think that any of the members of those teams would choose to change scenery. However, those from Milton Keynes stood out above the rest with Sebastian Vettel, the driver with whom they won four consecutive world titles, with which Lewis Hamilton, who at that time was at the service of those from Woking, did not see bad eyes giving the jump to energy drinks.
Added to this was the fact that the Briton had a tough rival in his teammate Jenson Button who did not make things easy for him, so he wanted to try his luck elsewhere. In addition, Red Bull boss Christian Horner even acknowledged that they were interested in taking over the man who would become a seven-time champion in the future.
The Milton Keynes team principal assured that Hamilton was “eager” to join them from 2013 , although the development of Mercedes and its project with hybrid power units further seduced the Englishman, who would become a legend of the of the silver arrows.
The fact that Red Bull had a contract in force with Sebastian Vettel until the end of 2014 caused them not to want to bring together ‘two roosters in the corral’, and when Horner learned of Mercedes’ interest in signing the Stevenage, He did not hesitate to speak with Niki Lauda .
The former Austrian driver worked as an advisor to the Brackley team, and Christian Horner acknowledged in an interview with The Daily Mail that he did not hesitate to encourage him to hire him: “Niki Lauda was at Mercedes and was very interested in signing Lewis [Hamilton ]”.
“It was the 2012 season and we were fighting McLaren, who had the fastest car at the time, and we felt that Lewis could be a threat to the Woking team,” he continued. “Lewis was hesitant to renew with McLaren, so I encouraged Niki [Lauda] to invest some money”:
“It would be fair to say that I failed!” He exclaimed with a laugh after seeing how Hamilton’s history with Mercedes has developed, whom he did not see as a rival for Red Bull but who took eight titles with the start of the hybrid era. of consecutive constructors.
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