The Briton has called for regulation changes to reign in Formula 1’s constructors champions whilst the Red Bull camp argue that it’s hypocritical for Hamilton to do so and their rivals simply have to be better to catch up.

Hamilton enjoyed unprecedented success between 2014-2021 as he won six drivers’ championships and claimed 82 wins with Mercedes, who began the turbo-hybrid era with an untouchable power unit before later proving their credentials in terms of chassis and aerodynamic designs.

“I feel like he has a selective memory,” Horner said on the ‘Eff Won with DRS’ podcast. “Some of the wins they had in that period were just obscene. We’ve had a good run for a couple of years, but the only one who shouldn’t say that, I think, is Lewis.”

The Austrian team currently leads the constructors’ championship by 400 points and Max Verstappen leads his teammate, Sergio Perez, in the drivers’ championship by 266 points after setting a record 524 points for a single-season haul.

Their run of success is most similar to Mercedes between 2014-2016 when the German manufacturer took 51 wins in that period as their rivals barely got a sniff of success.

Since 2022, Red Bull have won 36 out of 42 races and that could extend to 38 from 44 by the time the 2023 F1 season closes at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi in November.

Mercedes’ win rate between 2014-2016 was 86.4 percent, whilst Red Bull’s is currently at 85.7 percent at the time of writing. The 0.70 percent difference shows how the two teams parallel each other at the dawn of new regulations.

Sergio Perez of Red Bull leads Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes during 2023 Brazilian GP Sprint | Getty Images / Red Bull Content PoolHorner rules out signing Hamilton

Despite his supreme talent, Hamilton has been unable to collect a win since the 2021 Saudi Arabian GP as he and Mercedes have managed to turn up fractionally short on several occasions.

As the Brackley-based team struggles to understand the ground effect aerodynamics, despite Brixworth fielding a competitive engine, many pundits have claimed the 103-time grand prix winner is discontent with his team as he chases a record-breaking eighth drivers’ world championship.

Some have tipped him for a shocking switch to Red Bull to partner up with Verstappen and reignite their iconic 2021 rivalry, although the big boss of Milton Keynes explained why that would never work.

“A Verstappen and a Hamilton, that’s never going to work because you kill your own car,” Horner said. “You need to have a dynamic where the drivers drive for the team, not just for themselves. Otherwise, it can become very divisive.”