Lewis Hamilton has responded to rumors that Ferrari has held exploratory talks with Christian Horner over a role as team principal.
Horner was axed as Red Bull team principal and CEO following this year’s British Grand Prix after two decades at the helm of the team, during which time he helped build it from a new entry in 2005 to a championship-winning machine.
With his official departure from the organization confirmed last month, speculation over his future in Formula 1 has been rife.
Horner rumors not helpful
Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
One such rumor has been that Ferrari has been in contact with him over potentially replacing incumbent team principal Fred Vasseur.
The Frenchman has overseen somewhat of a turnaround for Ferrari since taking over from Mattia Binotto in 2023, with the Scuderia finishing last season with the best form and expected to challenge for the title this term.
But that hasn’t transpired, and problems with ride height have hampered Charles Leclerc and Hamilton, with Mercedes recently leapfrogging Ferrari into second in the constructors’ standings.
Hamilton and his former Mercedes team faced off in a bitter rivalry with Horner and Red Bull during the 2021 championship battle, making a partnership between the duo highly intriguing.
But asked about the speculation during the FIA’s official press conference ahead of the United States Grand Prix weekend, the seven-time world champion replied: “I don’t know where the rumors have come from, so I can’t really shed much light on that.”
Tomorrow, we bring the heat to Texas 😎🤝 pic.twitter.com/kEJglO3o25
— Scuderia Ferrari HP (@ScuderiaFerrari) October 17, 2025
Noting the impact such rumors have, Hamilton added, “It’s a little distracting for us as a team. 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. Everyone back in the factory is working incredibly hard, focused, and these sorts of rumors can sometimes be distracting.
“So for me, it’s about keeping the focus on the goal in front of us and building on next year’s car—continuing to build a foundation so we can have better execution and better performance next year. As I said back in Spa – just having lots of meetings, making sure we’re sailing in the right direction.”
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More performance to come?
Scuderia Ferrari
Hamilton was on track to finish fifth at the Singapore Grand Prix after a late-race charge on soft tires, only for a brake failure to leave him crawling home for seventh on the road, which became eighth after a post-race penalty for ignoring track limits in his ailing SF-25.
“We spent time after the last race going through areas we can improve on, and I really think this weekend we can take a step forward in extracting more from the car that we have,” he said.
“We’ve not moved the car forwards in terms of performance, but there is more performance in the car. If we execute a little better, I think we can extract more. So that’s the goal.”
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