Lewis Hamilton says rumours linking Christian Horner to Ferrari are ‘distracting’

AUSTIN – Lewis Hamilton said rumours linking former Red Bull boss Christian Horner with Ferrari were “distracting” for the Formula One team and he did not know where they came from.

Ferrari have yet to win in 18 rounds of the 24-race season and despite team principal Fred Vasseur being handed a contract extension in July, the talk about the Frenchman’s future has failed to die down.

The latest speculation, in Italy and England, suggested Ferrari had held exploratory talks with Horner – one of the sport’s most successful bosses of all time but

sacked abruptly in July

.

Both parties have not commented, although Aston Martin boss Andy Cowell said at the Singapore Grand Prix earlier in October that Horner had been in touch with team owners across the paddock.

“I don’t know where the rumours have come from, so I can’t really shed much light on that. It’s a little distracting for us as a team,” Hamilton told reporters on Oct 16 at the US Grand Prix.

“The team have made it clear where they stand in terms of re-signing Fred. Fred, I, and the whole team are working really hard on the future. These things aren’t helpful,” added the seven-time world champion.

“Everyone back in the factory is working incredibly hard, focused, and these sorts of rumours can sometimes be distracting.”

Vasseur was instrumental in signing Hamilton, 40, from Mercedes but the sport’s most successful driver has yet to stand on the podium in Ferrari red since he joined in January.

Asked again whether he knew if there was any truth to the reports and whether he thought it was a good idea for Horner to become principal, Hamilton replied: “I don’t, and I’m not going to entertain rumours.”

It was not clear which part of the question the “I don’t” referred to.

Meanwhile, the Briton also said horses were his “next thing” after riding one for the first time ahead of the US Grand Prix.

Hamilton, who races with the Italian team’s famed black stallion logo on his car and is used to handling plenty of horsepower, revealed that he was allergic to horses as a boy but had overcome it with treatment.

He recalled an early bond with a horse in a field near his home when he was a boy.

“It would come over to me, and I’d spend time with it. But then I’d start walking home and notice my allergies start kicking off, and I’d struggle to breathe,” he said.

Hamilton said he went through a desensitisation programme and took medication when he did a cover shoot with a horse in February for Time magazine to mark his arrival at Ferrari.

“Yesterday, I did the shoot with a horse for Plus 44 (his lifestyle brand) and I was like ‘Can I ride it?’ I got on, and it was just… It was an amazing experience,” explained the Briton.

“Then the horse started moving, started to gallop, and... I didn’t know what to do. So I panicked a little bit, but it was beautiful.

“I’m really excited about this next kind of phase of my life, where I’m going to be around horses more and really get into riding. That’s my next thing.” REUTERS