Hamilton responds to Verstappen: 'He doesn't want me as his team-mate'

Lewis Hamilton has stated that Max Verstappen is actively against the prospect of teaming up together at a team in Formula 1.

On the build-up to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend, a story emerged in which Christian Horner claimed that Hamilton's camp reached out to Red Bull over a potential vacancy at Red Bull.

Hamilton denied that it was true and instead said that it was Red Bull who made first contact.

Speaking in Abu Dhabi, Verstappen highlighted that he would have no problems going up against Hamilton at the same team.

However, Hamilton doesn't believe that he would be open to the idea.

“I'd be more than happy to race against Max in the same car, that'd be wonderful. I don't think he wants me to be his team-mate,” Hamilton told media including RacingNews365.com.

“I checked with everyone on the team and no one's talking to them. But they have tried to reach out to us.”

The potential partnership between Hamilton and Verstappen caused a stir due to their intense rivalry during the 2021 campaign.

Matters have cooled between the duo since then with Mercedes slipping back in the pecking order, but the clashes and controversies of their title fight are still well talked about.

Hamilton alleged that Horner's contact came through him messaging an old phone number.

“I basically had picked up my old phone, which I just found at home that had my old number on it and switched it on,” Hamilton said.

“And then obviously hundreds of messages came through and I realized there was one from Christian to get together and have a chat at the end of the season.”