Christian Horner has revealed a secret meeting with Lewis Hamilton in 2012 about the Brit becoming Sebastian Vettel's teammate at Red Bull, a move ultimately scuppered by the "staggering sums" involved financially.
Hamilton left McLaren at the end of 2012 and joined Mercedes -- a move widely questioned at the time.
It became the most successful driver-team partnership in Formula 1 history, with Hamilton claiming 84 race wins and six world titles.
Mercedes' dominant period started in 2014, when the V6 turbo era ended Vettel and Red Bull's run of four straight championships.
Writing in his new autobiography, Drive, Horner claims Hamilton's first port of call when looking for a new team had been Red Bull.
"Lewis Hamilton seemed to be losing heart at McLaren," Horner wrote. "From the outside, his relationship with Jenson Button looked strained, and his head was dropping after a series of mechanical failures throughout 2012. I occasionally bumped into him at races, and we were always friendly (despite his comment about Red Bull being just a drinks company), but I thought he seemed strangely vulnerable for a former world champion.
"Then, while checking my phone for missed calls and messages one day, I noticed his father's number on the screen and wondered whether Lewis was experiencing a change of opinion regarding Red Bull.
"When a secret meeting was then called, with Lewis, at Adrian [Newey]'s house near Ascot, my gut instinct was confirmed. He was looking to leave McLaren, and we were his preferred destination.
"'What will it take to join you guys?' he said, as we sat down. Adrian, who is not known for his poker face, looked ecstatic. I could hardly blame him. A driver pairing of Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton was a tantalising prospect."
Hamilton, now a seven-time world champion and the sport's most accomplished driver ever, was then represented by Simon Fuller, who had previously represented the Spice Girls and high-profile sporting figures including David Beckham and Andy Murray.
Horner said the main problems Red Bull ran into were the financial demands involved.
As is a common theme in the book, Horner suggests there was also a disagreement between himself and long-time Red Bull racing adviser Helmut Marko, credited for discovering Vettel in the first place.
"Certainly, Helmut looked unimpressed when he heard the news," Horner said. "Lewis's arrival would likely impact Sebastian, his protégé, and he was clearly feeling apprehensive. Intrigued, I tested the waters anyway. Simon was known to be a softly spoken person, but his opening gambit caused my ears to ring. 'You and I can do the biggest sports deal since Muhammad Ali,' he said boldly. I laughed, having grown familiar with the sports-agent vernacular. Simon was going to make a lot of money. And Red Bull would have to spend a fortune.
"Despite the undeniable marketing upside, I didn't pursue the idea with any real forcefulness. But the Lewis deal was going to appeal to someone. And I had a good idea of who that someone might be."
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Horner's last comment refers to Mercedes' Niki Lauda.
He went on to explain the traits of Hamilton's he admired and why he might have fit perfectly alongside Vettel.
On the Hamilton negotiations, Horner added: "Lewis had transformed into an iconic figure [by 2012], having won four races during his 2007 debut season with McLaren. Five years on, he was an elite racer known for his explosive pace, and arguably one of the competition's fastest ever drivers. He was the 2008 world champion, the winner of seventeen Grands Prix, and the holder of nineteen pole positions.
"As a driver, he was fantastic in the wet, fearless, and able to extract the absolute maximum from his car. He was also a commercial dream. Lewis was the face of countless billboard campaigns and TV adverts. Overall, he was just about the perfect challenger to Sebastian.
"Adrian, forever looking to improve the quality of drivers at Red Bull, was particularly enthusiastic. I couldn't blame him. Of course, the stumbling block was money. Any deal that brought Lewis to Red Bull would require staggering sums."
Hamilton instead began a partnership with Mercedes that would deliver six drivers' championships between 2014 and 2020.
Red Bull retained Vettel alongside Mark Webber in 2013, with Vettel winning his fourth consecutive world championship before leaving for Ferrari at the end of 2014.
Drive, Christian Horner's autobiography, will be released on Oct. 22.