Hamilton snubs Red Bull: "It's an energy drink company"

Lewis Hamilton has denied rumors that he is about to move to Red Bull Racing by harshly snubbing the Austrian team.

“Red Bull is not a manufacturer, it's an energy drink company,” Hamilton told The Guardian. “It's an energy drink company against the history of McLaren and Ferrari. I don't know what their plans are. Our team is growing to become a bigger manufacturer, like Ferrari, and our team will certainly exist for years and years to come. It's a real team born for racing” declared Hamilton, skeptical about the possibility that Red Bull can remain at high levels for much longer.

“I am 100% certain that neither McLaren nor Ferrari will let this happen,” he said. “They haven't been in F1 for a long time. Our teams have a status that they intend to maintain. For many, many years, it was McLaren and Ferrari at the front and now we have a new team that has come in and knocked us off the top. But I'm really sure that both teams will do absolutely everything in their power to get back to the top."

Hamilton doubts that Red Bull is a team capable of guaranteeing both drivers equal conditions, in light of what Mark Webber suffered last season: "It seems clear to me that it is a team in which there is a number 1" he declared Hamilton in reference to Sebastian Vettel. “This is what appears from the outside. Isn't Mark number 2? Just notice what he says and what you see from the outside."