Horner wants Liberty Media to lay down the law

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner has urged Liberty Media and the governing body of the sport, the FIA, to simply lay out their rules and regulations without compromise and leave it up to the teams whether they want to compete in F1 or not.

The American owners of Formula One are planning to implement new engine regulations for the 2021 season onwards and various figures and teams in the sport, most notably Sergio Marchionne of Ferrari, have been quick to criticise the decision.

Horner thinks that if teams want to compete in the sport, then they should adhere to the rules without confrontation.

“I think Liberty and the FIA are going to have to come up with a set of rules and say: ‘That’s what Formula 1 is, sign up or not’, and it’s in each team’s choice to decide if they want to be in the game or not," the Red Bull boss insisted.

Horner has admitted that, like Ferrari and Mercedes, he is not entirely happy with the new proposed regulations, he thinks there is method in keeping V6 engines.

“I’d be lying if I said I was totally happy, because ideally I would have loved a V10 or V12 normally-aspirated screaming engine, but I can understand the reasoning behind the engine that they’ve picked,” he added.

“They’re trying to be responsible in ensuring cost, performance, noise – it ticks all the boxes that an engine should do in Formula 1.

“We’re already seeing interest from manufacturers like [Red Bull title partner] Aston Martin if it’s affordable and reasonable value.”