Daniel Ricciardo "had no idea" Daniil Kvyat was behind before reversing into the Toro Rosso during the Azerbaijan GP.

The Australian was given a three-place grid drop for the next race in Spain after an attempted overtake into Turn 3 saw him go too deep into the escape road.

It was trying to get back on track when the contact occurred, however, as Kvyat had nowhere to go after stopping just short of the barrier and the Renault would simply drive back into the side of his car.

“At the time it was looking quite good for us. We were starting to pick up the pace and obviously closing in on Daniil," Ricciardo explained to Sky Sports.

“I saw a gap and thought I would have a go. It is always tight into Turn 3, and initially, I thought I had the commitment and would pull it off. Then I felt it was starting to lock and I missed the corner.

“At that point as soon as I went down the escape road, it was just I guess a sense of urgency and a bit of panic if you will – and try to minimise damage and lose as little time as possible," he added.

“I found reverse and started going and to be honest I had no idea he was there. I guess the urgency stopped me from looking.”

Kvyat, unsurprisingly, wasn't too pleased with his former Red Bull teammate.

“I respect Daniel a lot, we have been teammates so I have no problems with him,” he said.

“He just needs to be more patient. Just a few hundred meters later he had a two kilometer straight to try and overtake.

“That corner is very tight and he didn’t make it, so I had to go with him since he didn’t make it. I’ll buy him a rear-view mirror for the next race.”

It was a moment that more or less summed up Renault's weekend as Nico Hulkenberg struggled to a lowly 14th place finish.