Daniel Ricciardo has been cleared of impeding Kimi Raikkonen in a scary moment during French Grand Prix qualifying

The Finn was caught in the turbulent air of the Renault on the inside of the circuit entering Turn 11 and slid wide into the run-off area in a scary moment.

However, while the Australian was essentially rejoining the racing line for the long right-hander as the Alfa Romeo approached, the stewards believed it was a matter of unfortunate timing.

"Both drivers agreed that had Ricciardo taken any other line it would probably have affected Raikkonen in any case," their statement read.

"Both also agreed that given the location on the track that the cars approached each other, no other reasonable action could have mitigated the circumstances,

"Therefore, the stewards find that Ricciardo did not 'unnecessarily impede'."

That means Ricciardo keeps his eighth on the grid which, while a little down on the heights of fourth he managed in Canada two weeks ago, still satisfied the former Red Bull man.

"We got beat by the two McLarens and they have a little update they told no one about, I think," he suggested to the BBC. 

"It's impressive their pace, and we couldn't match that so I think P8 was the maximum and I'm pretty happy with that."

Raikkonen will start the race from P12.