'Ludicrous' to stage sprint race in Baku: Red Bull's Horner

Holding a sprint race on a street circuit at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix is a "ludicrous" proposition which will cost Formula One teams when they "trash" their cars, Red Bull boss Christian Horner said.

Holding a sprint race on a street circuit at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix is a "ludicrous" proposition which will cost Formula One teams when they "trash" their cars, Red Bull boss Christian Horner said.

Azerbaijan's Baku City circuit will host the first of Formula One's six sprint races this season at the end of April, with the others to be held in Austria, at Belgium's Spa-Francorchamps, Qatar, Austin and Brazil's Interlagos.

"The reality is it's absolutely ludicrous to be doing the first sprint race of the year in a street race like Azerbaijan," Horner told reporters at the Australian Grand Prix on Friday.

"But 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 you know one race is enough in Baku. The fact that we've got two, there could be, well, some action there."

Other team bosses echoed Horner's concerns.