Mercedes should be 'careful what they wish for' in F1 flexi-wings row - Horner

Mercedes, along with McLaren, have been left unhappy about the advantages teams continuing to run flexible aero parts may still have at this weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix, with new tougher tests on bendy wings not being introduced until later this month.

The German marque has not ruled out the possibility of lodging a protest in Baku this weekend, where the FIA has moved to enhance its policing of wing flexibility by adding stickers to all of the F1 cars.

Horner told Sky Sports F1 after second practice that Mercedes risks opening “a complete can of worms” on the matter and suggested that the front wing on Mercedes’ W12 should also be of interest to the FIA.

“There’s obviously been a lot of noise that Mercedes have been driving about the rear wings,” said Horner. “The bottom line is if the car complies with the rules, it passes the tests, it’s legal. The FIA comes up with the tests.

“I’d be more interested in seeing the front of the cars than the rear of the cars. So, you’re opening a complete can of worms. That’s why there are stringent tests in place that the cars need to comply with.

“If you are picking on one end of the car, you need to look at the other,” he added. “You can’t look at one part in isolation and say ‘that set of rules only applies to that element on that car’, you have to look at all areas.

“So sometimes you have to be a little bit careful what you wish for.”

Asked what he would do if he was in Wolff’s shoes, Horner responded: “I think I was Toto with the front wing he has on his car, I’d keep my mouth shut.”

Horner argued that pushing the boundaries of engineering epitomises F1.

“You’ve got some very bright technicians that are designing components to comply with the rules, that’s their job and that’s what we pay them for,” he explained.

“That’s what Formula 1 is all about, that engineering ingenuity. If we want standard cars we’d be Formula 2. I think that’s part of what the competition of this sport is, pushing the boundaries. That’s what Formula 1 is all about.

“You’ve got to be legal, you’ve got to be within the rules, but you’ve got to push the boundaries and that’s what we like every other team does.”

Red Bull heads into the Baku round leading both world championships for the first time since 2013 following a disastrous race for Mercedes last time out in Monaco.

“It’s the first time in three years Mercedes haven’t led and it’s great to be putting them under pressure,” Horner said.

“We can see the amount of interest that they are taking in everything we do at the moment. They are filming pit stops, they are filming everything.

“It’s got them under a bit of pressure and I think that’s good for the sport.”