15/03/2016
NEWS STORY
Red Bull boss admits teaming multi-champions up would never work.
Ahead of a season which will hopefully see Sebastian Vettel close the gap to Mercedes, and thereby Lewis Hamilton, Christian Horner insists the two could never work within the same team.
Claiming that before joining Mercedes, the Briton sought a seat with the Austrian team, which scored four successive titles with Vettel, Horner, having already endured the squabbles between the German and Mark Webber, admits it was never on the cards.
"At the time it would have been impossible to accommodate Lewis and Sebastian in the team, and obviously we went on to achieve a huge amount with Seb," said Horner according to the Daily Telegraph. "The timing didn't work out. It was one of those things. Lewis has gone on to achieve some phenomenal things in another environment. He's found his way."
Asked, should Ferrari catch Mercedes, if he can envisage Hamilton heading to Maranello - a move said to be the dream of every racer - Horrner admitted: "I'd be amazed to ever see the two of them sitting in the same team.
"From a team point of view as well it would be very difficult to envisage that scenario," he added. "It could be very, very divisive. You've always got one who is elated and one who is p****d off."
Whilst sections of the media are already looking to stir up bad feeling between the Mercedes duo, which over the last couple of seasons has threatened to spill over on a couple of occasions, Horner insists that it is nothing compared to the genuine bad blood between Vettel and Webber.
"What we see of the Lewis and Nico relationship is far more harmonious," said the Briton. "We've seen one cap thrown in two years!
"There was an intense rivalry between Mark and Seb. Less with Seb because he had the upper hand, so anything Mark could do to try and get under his skin he would do.
"Whether it was taking his headphones off in a debrief because he didn't value what Seb had to say, despite desperately trying to hear what was going on, or both drivers not showing their hand right until the end of qualifying to disguise their pace."