Horner: Baku F1 sprint is "absolutely ludicrous" given crash damage risk

Baku is the first of six sprint events on the 2023 schedule and it comes at a time when teams are still building up spares inventories, introducing upgraded parts and in some cases complete new packages that will be in limited supply.

The fact that the race is followed one week later by another street event in Miami puts even more pressure on teams to leave Baku with a minimal amount of damage.

“The reality is it's absolutely ludicrous to be doing the first sprint race of the year in a street race like Azerbaijan,” said Horner when asked by Motorsport.com about the risk of damage.

“I think from a spectacle point of view, from a fan point of view, it's probably going to be one of the most exciting sprint races of the year.

“From a cost cap perspective, all you can do is trash your car. And it costs a lot of money around there. So one race is enough in Baku, the fact that we've got two, there could be well some action there.

“But that's part of the challenge and it's part of the task that we've got. Hopefully, we can tidy up the format for the sprint races coming up, that they are bit more that they are a bit more dynamic.

“I know that the sporting directors have been working hard on that and hopefully we can get that that finalised. A sprint race in Azerbaijan is something to be certainly wary of.”

Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing RB19, cuts onto the grass

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

Other team bosses shared Horner's concerns about the consequences of damaging lots of parts.

“As Christian said Baku creates some pretty exciting races and some big crash damage bills,” said McLaren’s Zak Brown. “Same for everyone, and it is what it is. It'll be very exciting for the fans, and hopefully all the cars will come back the way they started.”

“Certainly there's some nervousness about it,” said Aston Martin’s Mike Krack. “But it's the same for everybody. So we try to keep the cars in one piece as long as we can.”

Alpine’s Otmar Szafnauer suggested that the April break will give his team enough time to stockpile new parts.

“It does seem that Baku always produces interesting racing,” said the American. “And yes, there's more jeopardy because it's a street race and some of the walls are pretty close.

“The nice thing is we've got this three-week break to make some spares in order to be prepared for both the sprint race and the race in Baku, and hopefully it'll all be okay, and we won't suffer in Miami.”

Haas boss Gunther Steiner suggested his team will also have enough parts: “I think we know enough about sprint events that we know how to get prepared. I think everybody is leaving a little bit of a margin there knowing that some of these races could be tough for the budget.

“Baku always creates something unexpected. So hopefully we're not involved in the unexpected and come back safe without damage and with points.”