Red Bull's Christian Horner has claimed Lewis Hamilton was "keen" to join the team during its dominant years.
Between 2010 and 2013, Hamilton reportedly reached out to Red Bull as he grew disillusioned with life at McLaren, where he started his F1 career.
Horner revealed in an interview in 2022 that Hamilton was eager to drive for Red Bull.
However, Horner decided against the move, pointing out that having two "alpha drivers" would not have been sensible.
He said: "Lewis and I have had a couple of conversations over the years.
"From 2010 to 2013, he was very keen to come and drive for Red Bull.
"We had Sebastian at that time and to have had two alpha drivers wouldn't have made sense."
He said he encouraged Mercedes chief Niki Lauda to sign Hamilton, believing that Hamilton in a McLaren would be more of a threat than in a Mercedes.
Horner explained: "Niki Lauda was at Mercedes and was very keen to take Lewis and I remember encouraging him to take him.
"We were fighting McLaren and in 2012, they had the fastest car and we felt that Lewis in a McLaren would be more of a threat than in a Mercedes.
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"I encouraged Niki to spend the money as Lewis was wavering a little bit. It would be fair to say that backfired on me."
Hamilton ended up joining Mercedes in 2013 and went on to win six world titles with the team, only missing out on the championship in 2016 during this period.
In 2023, Hamilton's team reportedly reached out to Red Bull again, enquiring about the possibility of him joining as Max Verstappen's teammate.
However, Horner was quick to dismiss the idea, saying: "We have had several conversations over the years about Lewis joining.
"But I can't see Max and Lewis working out together. The dynamic wouldn't be right. We are 100 per cent happy with what we have."
Hamilton, however, rebuffed these claims, insisting that no one from his team had spoken to Horner.
He said: "I don't really know where that story has come from. I mean I know it's come from Christian.
"I don't really understand what he's been talking about because no one, as far as I'm aware, from my team has spoken to him. I haven't spoken to Christian really in years.
"However, he did reach out to me earlier on in the year about meeting up, but that's it.
"So I'm not really sure, I think he's just stirring things."
Hamilton's career spans nearly 20 years in F1, having driven for McLaren, Mercedes, and Ferrari.
Despite his reported interest in joining Red Bull, he has spent his career racing against them as a chief rival.
Red Bull's decision not to sign Hamilton led to Mercedes' dominance from 2014 onwards, a period during which Hamilton won every world title except in 2016.
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