Lewis Hamilton has compared the ongoing drama at Red Bull to his experience with McLaren and Ron Dennis during the Spygate scandal of the 2007 season, suggesting that the persistent rumours and speculation surrounding Christian Horner will be impacting Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez.

The Spygate scandal was among the biggest to have rocked F1 in the sport’s history and it came with major consequences for the McLaren team. While Hamilton did not suffer any direct punishment, the seven-time world champion and his team-mate Fernando Alonso were both affected by the ongoing drama throughout the season.

After it was ruled that confidential technical information had been passed over from Ferrari, the Woking-based team were disqualified from the 2007 Constructors’ Championship and fined a record-breaking £78.1million ($100m). Hamilton and Alonso were allowed to remain active in the Drivers’ Championship.

Discussing his experience, Hamilton said: “Just from my experience, having gone through something similar back in the day when I was at McLaren… our leader was in question, they were going through a difficult time and it affected everybody.

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“So whether or not it is there, I have been in an experience where I remember when we were losing Ron, for example, and the things Ron was going through and the steps we had to take, it affected all of us.

“So a leader is super important because they set the tone, they make sure the team sticks to the core values of what the sport is about and integrity. Whilst there are loads of people further down the trough that are just as important, that leader is key to the destination you are working towards.”

The Red Bull camp is currently experiencing a similar level of speculation and distraction. Despite securing pole position and one-two finishes in both of the first two Grands Prix of the 2024 season, all of the focus has instead been on the future of team principal Horner.

While many key figures including Jos Verstappen, father of the world champion, have called for Horner to resign, the 50-year-old has not budged and maintains that the team remains united as they seek to retain both World Championships.

However, as long as he remains in his role as team principal, the speculation will continue to distract from the on-track success of Verstappen and Perez. Horner called for the paddock to ‘draw a line under’ the saga in Jeddah, but with the Australian Grand Prix approaching in two weeks the debate is still bubbling.