Lewis Hamilton accused Christian Horner of "stirring the pot" following the Red Bull Formula One boss's assertion that a representative of the seven-time world champion approached him about joining Red Bull before Hamilton signed a new contract with Mercedes.

Horner told the Daily Mail that there had been "several conversations over the years" about Hamilton joining the team, which is currently dominant with triple world champion Max Verstappen.

"They have reached out a few times. Most recently, earlier in the year, there was an inquiry about whether there would be any interest," said the team boss.

Hamilton, whose contract to the end of 2025 was announced in August, told reporters at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Thursday that nobody from his management had spoken to Horner.

He said Horner had messaged him, however, on an old phone he had left at home.

"I switched it on, and 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," he said.

"I just replied to him on my new phone. It was after the weekend. It was quite late when I found the message. It was from earlier in the year. So, it was like months later."

Hamilton also suggested some people liked to drop his name into conversation to get attention if they were "a little bit lonely."

"I think he's just stirring things," he told Sky Sports television earlier. "You know, Christian. He loves that kind of stuff."

Hamilton said he would be "more than happy" to race Verstappen in an equal car, and any driver would love to drive "for such a great group of people," but it was not his personal dream.

"I think moving from a car that's not so great to a winning car, from my perspective, is not a dream. The dream is always to start where we are and build up to winning. That's why I've stayed with Mercedes," he said.

Mercedes won eight constructors' titles in a row from 2014 to 21 but were fighting Ferrari to be the best of the rest this season. Verstappen have won 18 of 21 races so far, and Red Bull has won all but one.

Serious talks

Horner told the Daily Mail that Hamilton, who has not won a race since 2021, also had talks with Ferrari Chairperson John Elkann earlier in the year.

"I think there were serious talks. It was around Monaco (in May). There were definitely conversations, perhaps with (Ferrari team boss Fred) Vasseur, too. But certainly with Elkann," he said.

Hamilton, who has said he sees himself at Mercedes "until my last days," denied the Ferrari speculation at the time.

He also told reporters in May that his management team were handling contract talks.

It is not unusual for a driver's representative to investigate other possibilities at the time of contract negotiations.

Verstappen, asked in an FIA press conference whether he would have welcomed Hamilton as his teammate, saw little point in fueling the discussion.

"There's no point in making up stories 'if, if.' It's not happening," said the Dutch 26-year-old. "I wouldn't mind; it doesn't matter."