'No chance!' 2021 rules package will not be agreed by deadline, says Horner

Red Bull supremo Christian Horner has laughed off suggestions that constructors will reach an agreement with Liberty Media regarding a new rules package ahead of the June deadline. But he was keen to add that discussions were moving in the right direction.

The rules package, designed to commence from the 2021 season, was recently presented to the teams and while there was no open hostility towards the terms, as there has been in the past, Horner was keen to press home that there are still a number of specifics that need ironed out before progress can be made - and that will likely extend well beyond June.

When asked about a June agreement, he told Sky Sports: "No chance.

"Absolutely no chance.

"There is an energy driving things forward at the moment and it is about time. Hopefully in the next few weeks we can get results.

"It [an agreement] will be this year, but there are so many factors to tidy up like income, costs and technical regulations."

The main stumbling blocks around Liberty's sweeping changes for 2021 include the provision of a team budget cap and the division of prize money among the competing teams. Liberty are keen to level the playing field in every aspect and this has previously proved unpalatable for the giants, Mercedes and Ferrari.

But both sides appear closer than before and Horner said that it may not be a bad thing waiting until later in the year to release any technical specifications that are included in the package.

He added: "I actually think the technical regulations being released too soon is going to cost more money anyway so perhaps at the end of the year would be a better time to release the technical regulations.

"Otherwise some teams would basically stockpile, bring resources in and specialist teams on these new regulations. So I think it coming out later would be better.

"As long as it is by December, I think that would be fine."

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