Ricciardo lashes Vettel over Hamilton incident

Daniel Ricciardo says Sebastian Vettel does not always think before he acts after the Ferrari driver clashed with Lewis Hamilton at Sunday's Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Ricciardo claimed his first win of the season in Baku but that was only a small part of the story on the city's street circuit.

The biggest controversy came courtesy of Vettel, who responded to what he perceived as 'brake testing' by Hamilton behind the safety car by pulling up alongside the Briton and swerving into his Mercedes.

Vettel was handed a 10-second stop-and-go penalty over the incident, which was deemed lenient by Hamilton, who ultimately finished fifth behind the fourth-placed German after having to pit from the lead due to a loose head rest.

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And Ricciardo - Vettel's former team-mate at Red Bull - says the incident was a result of "passion and hunger".

"Seb probably sometimes doesn't think before he acts," Ricciardo told BBC Sport.

"It's probably driven through passion and hunger. He's kind of just got to put a lid on it sometimes.

"I respect Seb a lot for his grit and his love for the sport, which turns into a lot of passion and sometimes aggression. I respect and like that about him.

"But today you have seen… whether it's over the radio, sometimes he will just go crazy. It is probably - what's the word? - spur of the moment? There's a better word."

'Brake testing' is the act of slowing down to force a reaction from the driver behind.

"Look, whether Lewis slowed down or not, he has every right to dictate the pace," added Ricciardo. "He's the leader, and it was too early for him to accelerate.

"You're not going to make the restart out of Turn 15. Seb was probably just a little bit over-excited."