Christian Horner rumours are distracting for Ferrari team – Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton says talk of Christian Horner joining Ferrari is “distracting” for the team. Picture: AP Photo/John Locher
Lewis Hamilton says rumours linking former Red Bull boss Christian Horner with Ferrari are “distracting” for the team.
Horner is plotting a return to the sport after agreeing an £80million (€91.9m) exit from Red Bull last month having been ousted following July’s British Grand Prix.
Rumours linking the 51-year-old with Ferrari have surfaced amid the Italian team’s continued struggles.
The Scuderia are yet to win a race this season and questions around the future of team principal Fred Vasseur – who was only handed a multi-year contract extension in July – continue to be asked.
Hamilton believes that talk of Horner replacing Vasseur is not helping their cause.
“It is a little bit distracting for us as a team,” Hamilton said ahead of this weekend’s United States Grand Prix.
“The team have made it clear where things stand in terms of re-signing Fred. Fred and the whole team are working really hard on the future of the team.
“I don’t know where the rumours have come from so I can’t really shed much light on that.
“These things naturally aren’t helpful. I know everyone back at the factory is working really hard and these kind of rumours can be distracting.
“For me it is trying to keep the focus on the goal in front of us and building next years car so that we can have better execution and better performance.”
The seven-time world champion is still waiting for his first Ferrari podium amid a disappointing debut season, which began with many expecting the Italian giants to contend for both championships.
He is sixth in the standings, a whopping 211 points adrift of leader Oscar Piastri.
Horner’s success during his 20-year stay at Red Bull – where he oversaw eight drivers’ and six constructors’ championships – mean he remains an attractive proposition to the sport’s leading teams.
The settlement he reached with Red Bull means he could make a return to the paddock as early as next summer.
Hamilton, a six-time winner of the race in Austin, revealed he has been getting to grips with a prancing horse of a different kind in the build-up to the race.
“Yesterday I rode a horse for the first time, it was an unbelievable experience,” the 40-year-old said.
“When it started to gallop I didn’t know what to do in that moment and started to panic a little bit! I am really excited about this phase of my life where I want get into horses a little bit more.”
Hamilton added that horses triggered his asthma and allergies as a child and that he had “stayed away from them since that day”.
The race in Austin is the second in succession to have been declared a “heat hazard”.
Temperatures at the Circuit of the Americas are forecast to exceed 31 degrees during both the sprint and main race.
As was the case in Singapore a fortnight ago, the heat hazard declaration gives drivers the option of wearing cooling vests in their car.
McLaren’s Piastri holds a 22-point lead over team-mate Lando Norris ahead of a weekend where 33 points are up for grabs across Saturday’s sprint and Sunday’s race in Texas.
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