Horner suggested Mercedes had told Lewis Hamilton to 'b****' about his agony

12 June 2023 , 21:53

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Lewis Hamilton is preparing for the Canadian Grand Prix (Image: Getty Images)

Red Bull chief Christian Horner previously suggested that Lewis Hamilton was made to “b****” as much as he could in order to convince the FIA to change their own rules.

The comments came following a controversial Azerbaijan Grand Prix exactly a year ago. Hamilton, a seven-time World Champion, was seen clambering out of his W13 after the race in agony after suffering the most from the porpoising effect.

His teammate George Russell also had similar problems. Since then, rules have been introduced in an effort to battle porpoising. Despite that alteration, Horner’s comments about Hamilton’s complaints are still echoing in the minds of organisers. He was previously suspicious that the issue was being blown out of proportion by Mercedes.

Asked what he would do if Red Bull were experiencing the same problem, he said: "Tell them to bitch as much as they could over the radio and make as big an issue out of it as they possibly could."

Asked if he felt this is what Mercedes and Hamilton were doing, the 49-year-old added: "Of course it is. Look, it is uncomfortable but there are remedies to that but it is detrimental to the car's performance. What is the easiest thing to do? Complain from a safety point of view but each team has a choice.

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"If it was a genuine safety concern across the whole grid then it is something that should be looked at but if it is only affecting isolated people or teams, then that is something that the team should potentially deal with."

Lewis Hamilton is helped from his car in Baku in 2022 (Getty Images)

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Amid the rule change to eliminate porpoising, Horner further suggested that Mercedes were keen to see a rule change that would help them going forwards. "The easiest thing is obviously to raise the car so a team has a choice to do that," he said bluntly.

"You have a choice where you run your car and you should never run a car that is unsafe. But I think that is more for the technical guys because there are certain cars that have some issues and certain cars with very few issues. It would seem unfair to penalise the ones who have done a decent job versus the ones who have perhaps missed the target slightly."

Despite the rule change and reduced threat of porpoising, the introduction of the new rule does not appear to have benefited Mercedes. Struggles with their car has seen Red Bull build up a considerable lead at the top of the 2023 constructor standings.

Meanwhile, Hamilton has slipped to fourth in the driving standings with just 87 points. Red Bull star Max Verstappen currently holds a huge 53-point lead.

The pair will go head-to-head this weekend once more during the Canadian Grand Prix set to take place in Montreal. Verstappen ran out victor last season with Hamilton in third.

Daniel Orme