Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo accepted responsibility for his session-ending crash during qualifying for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, after carrying too much speed into Turn 6.
Ricciardo slid wide through the right-hander at the start of the second sector and clattered into the wall, sustaining damage to the left-rear of his RB13.
Ricciardo’s crash brought out the red flags and the Australian plunged down the order when Q3 resumed, meaning he will line up from 10th place on the grid.
“It’s obviously frustrating when you crash but in Q3 you are trying to give everything and get that last little bit out of the car,” he said.
“I knew Turn 6 was a corner where I could do better, I was trying to carry more speed but I lost the rear on the exit and hit the wall.
“The rear was coming round and I tried to drive out of it but it kept going.
“The wall kind of comes back round a bit so I hit it. It’s not the wall’s fault, obviously, I’m not blaming the wall! There was no other reason, I was just pushing hard and on the edge of the grip.”
Ricciardo is nonetheless confident that he can make progress in race trim, despite strategic limitations, with a one-stop likely to be favoured by the bulk of the field.
“I thought we could have been fighting at the front today but the time from Mercedes was really quick, they proved to be out of reach but Ferrari weren’t too far in front at the end,” he said.
“This weekend Max [Verstappen] and I have been happy with the balance of the car and it is responding well so we have made definite progress.
“I’m not disheartened for tomorrow, I think so much can happen around here and even if it is a one stop race I’m sure we can make progress.”
Red Bull team-mate Verstappen will line up from fifth position on the grid.
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