Mercedes will be left "in the s***" when Lewis Hamilton eventually decides to retire, believes Christian Horner.
The Red Bull boss made the claim in an episode of the new series of Formula 1: Drive to Survive. Series five of the Netflix docu-drama was released worldwide on Friday, giving Formula 1 fans another exciting glimpse behind the scenes of what happened in the paddock during the action-packed 2022 season.
There was no danger of Mercedes losing Hamilton last year, as his current contract runs to the end of this upcoming 2023 season. But the prospect of his absence from the grid was still discussed, by Horner who was blunt about the impact he feels the Brit's retirement will have on the team led by his rival Toto Wolff.
"If he did retire, who on earth would they take?" Horner asks on camera. "That would drop them really in the s*** if he decides to retire." He later adds: "What are Toto's options if Lewis were to retire? It leaves him pretty exposed."
Hamilton would have been hoping to challenge for his eighth drivers' title last year, but never got the chance. Mercedes got it all wrong when creating and developing the W13 car they gave to their drivers, leaving them unable to regularly fight for wins.
Instead, Hamilton and George Russell were left with the task of maximising how many points they could earn in spite of their inferior machinery. It was a particular slog in the early stages of the season, most notably at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix when porpoising problems peaked.
The new Netflix series shows Horner and Mercedes chief Wolff engaged in a verbal spat at the Canadian Grand Prix which followed, at a meeting between the team principals. The Austrian appeared particularly angry that there were no rule changes to restrict the bouncing which had left Hamilton in agony in Baku.
But Horner was clearly having none of it. He accused Wolff of "playing to the Netflix cameras" in the midst of a strong exchange between them, during which the Red Bull boss cries: "Well change your car! You've got a problem change your f***ing car!"
Last month, Wolff reignited the ill feeling between the two team bosses when he lashed out at "obsessed" Horner in an interview. "Every second that I spend on talking about him is a waste of time in my life," the Mercedes chief said, and also claimed he is "living in [Horner's] head rent-free".
