Daniel Ricciardo suspects his rear-suspension could very well be damaged after he struck the Wall of Champions on his final flying lap during qualifying for the Canadian Grand Prix on Saturday.
The Red Bull driver looked to have brushed the wall just moments before he crossed the line to go fourth quickest behind the Mercedes pair and Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel, but Ricciardo said it felt like a "pretty big kiss" from inside the car.
"It felt like a pretty big kiss actually," he said after. "As soon as I hit it, I thought about what happened to Carlos [Sainz]. I thought 'just please keep the wheels on until the line, and then they can fall off it they want!'
"In the end, I don’t think I lost much to it, I think I carried so much speed into the corner that I gained in what I lost out by hitting the wall. It probably didn’t change my overall position."
The wall claimed Sainz's Toro Rosso during Q2, resulting in a red flag after the Spaniard made light contact with his rear, that however broke his front suspension as his front-right struck the wall on second contact.
Ricciardo reckons his suspension might also be damaged, but suspects the FIA will let Red Bull change it on grounds of safety.
"It took a pretty big [hit] yesterday as well, and it held up. We’ll see. It felt a bit buckled, the car wobbled a bit as I crossed the line. I’m sure the FIA will let us change parts if we need to if they look a bit worse for wear.
"I don’t think I lost the tenth and half that Seb [Vettel] was in front. Pretty happy. This weekend was steady, I think we’ve built up to it. We got it all together and we’re pretty happy with fourth. We’re only three tenths from pole."
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