“I had negotiated with Sebastian”- Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton could have been teammates

“I had negotiated with Sebastian”- Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton could have been teammates reveals Norbert Haug.

Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton could have been teammates back in 2008, as it has been revealed by ex- Mercedes boss Norbert Haug that he tried to negotiate with the German to join McLaren when he was in Toro Rosso.

“I had negotiated with Sebastian during his time with Toro Rosso,” Haug told F1-Insider.com. “Who knows how the history of Formula 1 would have developed if we had reached an agreement back then?

“But, in the top league of Formula 1, everyone negotiates with everyone at some point and those who don’t admit it simply keep it to themselves. But it’s still true!”

Lewis Hamilton made a debut for McLaren back in 2007 and gained prominence with his impressive rookie season, where he came second in the championship by a point difference. On the other hand, Sebastian Vettel same year debut with BMW Sauber and was then signed by Toro Rosso.

Thus, both drivers still in their formative years in F1 would have been an exciting duo to watch. Considering, both went onto win the championship in the following years, with Lewis Hamilton winning his first championship in 2008 and then in 2014, 2015 and now a streak since 2017.

Whereas, Vettel won four successive titles from 2010 to 2013. Only two drivers have disrupted their combined Championship streaks, i.e. Jenson Button- 2009 and Nico Rosberg- 2016.

McLaren-Mercedes pleases Haug

While Hamilton and Vettel couldn’t partner each other, but Haug is at least delighted with the fact that Mercedes and McLaren are now in full arms with each other.

“That pleases me very much,” said the former Mercedes racing boss. “We had a great and most successful 15 years together, and the McLaren-Mercedes Silver Arrows with Häkkinen, Coulthard and later Hamilton were a quality concept in Formula 1 during this time.

“I would be pleased if it would be the same again. With Andreas Seidl, there is a racer at the helm who knows where the top step of the podium is and how to get there – since things have been on the up again.”

About the author

Tanish Chachra

Tanish Chachra is the Motorsport editor at The SportsRush. He saw his first race when F1 visited India in 2011, and since then, his romance with the sport has been seasonal until he took up this role in 2020. Reigniting F1's coverage on this site, Tanish has fallen in love with the sport all over again. He loves Kimi Raikkonen and sees a future world champion in Oscar Piastri. Away from us, he loves to snuggle inside his books.

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