Horner visited Maranello for Concorde

Red Bull chief Christian Horner's visit to the Ferrari headquarters in Maranello on Friday is believed to be due to a meeting over talks for a new Concorde agreement.

Many reports in the Italian media erroneously speculated that Horner was being considered for a shock switch to the Italian marque. 

However, it is far more likely that the head honchos of the two leading car manufacturers in the sport are interested in ironing out an agreement in order to improve the position of the teams in the three-way battle for financial supremacy against the FIA and the F1 group run by Bernie Ecclestone. 

At the same meeting, Ecclestone, McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh and Mercedes' Niki Lauda are also believed to have attended as they seek to sign a new Concorde agreement, with the previous one having expired at the end of 2012. 

According to Auto Motor und Sport, the latest reports with regards to the secretive discussions on the famous document indicate that the teams are holding out for a 60-percent-share of the sport's revenue with a majority going to the top teams in Ferrari, Red Bull, McLaren and Mercedes. However, the FIA is adamant that the teams should get a smaller slice of the pie and is itself seeking for a $40 million payout. 

Moreover, the smaller teams, who do have some limited sway, are seeking for the return of a 'budget cap' although the traditional powerhouses are expected to decline any such amendment. 

Ecclestone, meanwhile, does not feel that the signing of the document is as important a necessity for the sport as the media has hyped it up to be. 

"We don't need the Concorde Agreement signed," he said. "It doesn't matter to me whether we have got the Concorde Agreement or not.

"The Concorde Agreement is really made up of two sections. We have already dealt with the financial section with the teams. It is all done so it is a case of the regulations which change all the time. It's a case really of how you change the regulations.

"What affects the teams more than anything is the technical regulations. It is the technical regulations which could put them out of business."