- 05 Apr 11, 02:07#249273
Horner cools Hamilton link
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has said that it would be difficult to accommodate both Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel in the same team.
Hamilton's future with McLaren has been the subject of speculation at the beginning of the season as the team seemed to be off the pace with its new MP4-26. The 2008 world champion said he was happy to stay however, and new upgrades brought to the car for the first race of the season then made it more competitive than expected.
Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko still said that Hamilton would always be a topic for the team, and while Horner agreed that he would have to be considered as a replacement for Mark Webber if he was available, he said he didn't see the opportunity arising in the near future.
"If he wanted to drive for Red Bull, you couldn't ignore a driver of his calibre," Horner told the BBC. "But I understand he has a multi-year contract with McLaren and I envisage that he'll be there for a while yet. Lewis is a wonderfully gifted driver. He's obviously happy at McLaren. We're very happy with the driver line-up we have."
Horner did admit though that if Hamilton himself was ever to express a desire to join Red Bull, then the situation could change.
"With any driver-team relationship there has to be a desire on both sides. That's what makes the relationship with our current drivers work so well. Sebastian has been with Red Bull since he was 12. But who knows? In the future you can never rule anything out, but there would have to be a strong desire on both sides to do something like that."
Horner also highlighted another stumbling block being any potential relationship between Hamilton and Vettel, citing Hamilton's turbulent season alongside Fernando Alonso in 2007 as evidence that it could cause problems.
"It's difficult to see how you could have two drivers of Lewis's and Sebastian's calibre under one roof. There tends to be fireworks as we saw with Fernando Alonso and Lewis. We're very happy with our current drivers. We'll see how things evolve."
When asked if his comments meant he did not rank Webber in the same category as Vettel and Hamilton, Horner clarified that was not the case.
"Absolutely not. They [Vettel and Webber] are at different stages of their careers and they complement each other. You've got an 11-year age gap and that life experience is pretty valuable, in Lewis and Sebastian you have two drivers who are pretty close in terms of age."
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Pretty bad cover up Horner.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has said that it would be difficult to accommodate both Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel in the same team.
Hamilton's future with McLaren has been the subject of speculation at the beginning of the season as the team seemed to be off the pace with its new MP4-26. The 2008 world champion said he was happy to stay however, and new upgrades brought to the car for the first race of the season then made it more competitive than expected.
Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko still said that Hamilton would always be a topic for the team, and while Horner agreed that he would have to be considered as a replacement for Mark Webber if he was available, he said he didn't see the opportunity arising in the near future.
"If he wanted to drive for Red Bull, you couldn't ignore a driver of his calibre," Horner told the BBC. "But I understand he has a multi-year contract with McLaren and I envisage that he'll be there for a while yet. Lewis is a wonderfully gifted driver. He's obviously happy at McLaren. We're very happy with the driver line-up we have."
Horner did admit though that if Hamilton himself was ever to express a desire to join Red Bull, then the situation could change.
"With any driver-team relationship there has to be a desire on both sides. That's what makes the relationship with our current drivers work so well. Sebastian has been with Red Bull since he was 12. But who knows? In the future you can never rule anything out, but there would have to be a strong desire on both sides to do something like that."
Horner also highlighted another stumbling block being any potential relationship between Hamilton and Vettel, citing Hamilton's turbulent season alongside Fernando Alonso in 2007 as evidence that it could cause problems.
"It's difficult to see how you could have two drivers of Lewis's and Sebastian's calibre under one roof. There tends to be fireworks as we saw with Fernando Alonso and Lewis. We're very happy with our current drivers. We'll see how things evolve."
When asked if his comments meant he did not rank Webber in the same category as Vettel and Hamilton, Horner clarified that was not the case.
"Absolutely not. They [Vettel and Webber] are at different stages of their careers and they complement each other. You've got an 11-year age gap and that life experience is pretty valuable, in Lewis and Sebastian you have two drivers who are pretty close in terms of age."
__________________________________________
Pretty bad cover up Horner.
Breaking News:Lewis Hamilton has officially overtaken The Fonz in race wins. With 88 races less. Lol(Without a specially built blown diffuser, illegal front wing, preferential treatment)
. If they are professional it should not be an issue and could only help the team garnish more points towards either championship.
