Lewis Hamilton gives verdict on Ferrari's stunning talks with Christian Horner over Formula One comeback

Lewis Hamilton admits that former Red Bull team principal Christian Horner being linked to Ferrari is ‘distracting’.

As revealed by Daily Mail Sport this week, Horner is under consideration as a possible replacement for team principal Fred Vasseur if results do not turn for the better.

Hamilton, sixth in the drivers’ standings, 211 points off leader Oscar Piastri, is a supporter of Vasseur, the Frenchman who signed a three-year extension in July.

For the moment, Vasseur has the support of Ferrari chairman John Elkann, while Horner is not free to take up a new job until next April.

Hamilton, speaking about Horner ahead of the US Grand Prix in Austin, where he rode a horse for the first time for a photoshoot, said: ‘It is a little bit distracting for us. The team have made it clear where things stand in terms of re-signing Fred. Fred and the whole team are working really hard on the future.

‘For me it is trying to keep the focus on the goal in front of us and building next year’s car so that we can have better execution and better performance.'

Of riding out, Hamilton added: ‘I have stayed away from horses since I was 14. I went through a desensitisation programme because my allergies were crazy. I hadn’t thought about it. I had a photoshoot with a horse and I asked if I could ride it. It was an amazing experience.

‘I got on and it started moving and when it started to gallop I didn’t know what to do and panicked a bit. I am really excited about this phase of my life where I want to get into horses a little bit more.’

This weekend’s race in Texas is the second in succession to be declared a ‘heat hazard’ under the sport’s revamped rules. Temperatures at the Circuit of the Americas are forecast to reach at least 31C – the yardstick for the verdict – both in the sprint race tomorrow (Sat) and the grand prix on Sunday.

Though conditions are not going to be anything like as humid as in Singapore a fortnight ago, the ‘heat hazard’ designation allows drivers to wear cooling vests in their cars.

The mercury reached 27C on Thursday.