A playful Daniel Ricciardo claimed his unexpected victory at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix was "never in doubt" after a rollercoaster race in Baku.

The owner of car No. 3 would start 10th, after hitting the wall in qualifying and his chances of points, let alone a podium or win, were even further dented after the Red Bull driver was forced to pit early to clear a blocked brake duct and he resumed in 17th.

But, after climbing back up to 10th after the first Safety Car period and starting fifth following the red flag, Ricciardo would produce ultimately the race-winning overtake on both Williams at Turn 1  at the restart to claim third before inheriting and holding the lead after issues for long-time leaders Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel.

"It was just a crazy race -- Never in doubt, never in doubt," he joked afterwards. "It was fun. Even when we got the red flag, I came on the radio and just was like 'man this is fun, this is a good race'. I was P5 and was having fun back in P5 -- now I won the race so you imagine where I am right now, pretty unreal."

The Australian did admit he had a good idea the Ferrari of Vettel would be in trouble with the stewards for hitting the Mercedes in temper but didn't know if he would be able to capitalise.

"I saw, when we had the red flag when I got out of the car, I saw the replays. I was pretty sure Seb was going to get a penalty but I wasn't sure to what extent," Ricciardo claimed.

"I was thinking if it's only a 10-second penalty then they've probably got the pace to make that gap but then they said 10-second stop and go, I was like alright.

"Then they said Lewis' headrest was loose, he's pitting, I was like this is unreal, I am now leading this race and it's is in my hands," he added.

Even after he crossed the finish line to claim his fifth victory in F1, Ricciardo admitted it was difficult to come to terms with just how the 51 laps had played out.

“This is the race we expected last year with all the Safety Cars and all the chaos and we got it this year," he said. "I was honestly speechless after the race, on the cool down lap I was just giggling like a little schoolboy.

"I said yesterday we had to stay out of trouble and it certainly paid off today. Big thanks to Red Bull, nice to get one car home and on the top step.”

Daniel Ricciardo believes strategy can enable him to recover from a disappointing 10th on the grid for Sunday's Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

After his Red Bull team set the pace on Friday, Saturday proved more difficult for the Milton Keynes-based team with Ricciardo hitting the wall while on a flying lap in Q3, causing a red flag and then falling down the order as others improved on their last run.

Explaining what happened, the Australian commented: “I was just trying to carry a bit of speed through that combination and I felt, through Turn 6, the rear kind of went away a little bit. It happened so quickly.

“I tried to power through it but the wall comes back on you and the rear was gone so as soon as I hit it I felt it was too big of a hit."

“I could see the rim was damaged, so the consequence of trying to get a bit more out of it in Q3," he added accepting blame for the incident. "I felt like the track temperature is coming down and the track is getting better, so there is margin, particularly in Q3 to improve.

“I was chasing that little bit too much. A bit frustrated of course but not really anything to blame other than trying.”

Looking forward to the race, however, the long run pace Red Bull showed on Friday is something positive for Ricciardo to build on with the 27-year-old also sensing a scenario to repeat what worked for him very well a month ago.

“Strategy is limited but you could find not the same but a similar situation to Monaco where perhaps an overcut is not that far off an undercut,” he claimed.

“So strategy might not be that straight forward, there might be some opportunities there. And then if I am quicker than the guys in front, you can overtake. With such a long straight, even if we are down, say to a Mercedes, Force India or Williams, the cars in front of me, if you get a tow then the tow is bigger than the horsepower deficit.”

“So if we are quicker we should be able to overtake. So try and be quick and make an under or overcut work. It sounds easy.”

Across the garage, Max Verstappen was left to rue several niggly problems as he fell behind the two Ferraris on the final flying lap into fifth.

“By having a bit more wheel spin than usual I lost gear sync so all the way up through the castle and then the long straight I was having very hard shifts so I lost more or less two-tenths because of it," the Dutchman explained.

“Today that cost me P3,” he added. “We should be ahead [of Ferrari] without all things happening in qualifying so yeah it’s looking a lot better, but of course when you’re looking to Mercedes we know we have to improve but we know they have this power mode which they can use.”

Daniel Ricciardo claimed his first win of the 2017 season in an Azerbaijan Grand Prix full of drama with three safety cars and a red flag and lived up to the expected craziness previously seen in Formula 2 races.

The Australian recovered from having to pit early for new tyres and to clear a blocked brake duct, which dropped him to 17th, and as the chaos unfolded, produced a brilliant move on the two Williams at the restart after the red flag, which would put him in position to claim his fifth win in his Formula 1 career.

Valtteri Bottas was also able to make a comeback, having dropped a lap down and last after Lap 1 after colliding with the Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen at Turn 2, to claim second place by a tenth of a second across the line from driver of the day Lance Stroll, as the Canadian also kept it clean to become the youngest podium scorer in F1 history.

There was significant drama between championship rivals Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton, who finished the race fourth and fifth respectively. A coming together as they were P1 and P2 behind the Safety Car, would see the German hit the back of the Mercedes in what Vettel believed to be a brake test. In response, he would draw alongside, gesticulate to the Briton and intentionally bang wheels, for which he was given a 10-second stop and go penalty.

For Hamilton, he fell out of contention for the race after his headrest came loose, following the red flag period, causing him to pit for a replacement and dropping him down to 10th.

The two drivers would emerge from their respective stops almost side-by-side before continuing and making progress back up through the field.

In sixth was Esteban Ocon, after the Frenchman recovered from an incident that saw him collide with his teammate Sergio Perez, potentially costing them podium places and the subsequent debris among other areas around the track contributed to the red flag that was called on Lap 22. Kevin Magnussen ran as high as third at one stage before being overtaken by the Mercedes’, Vettel and Ocon to eventually claim seventh in the Haas.

Carlos Sainz also used the high attrition to finish eighth after spinning and falling to the back after Turn 1 when he was off-putted by his recovering team-mate Daniil Kvyat. The Russian would also cause the first Safety Car after he was forced to pull over exiting Turn 12 with a mechanical issue.

Fernando Alonso did as hoped by avoiding the drama and controlling a clean race to award McLaren their first points this season in ninth, while Pascal Wehrlein was able to grab the last point completing the top 10 for Sauber.

There would only be three finishers not to score points with Marcus Ericsson, Stoffel Vandoorne and Romain Grosjean completed the classified order.

Of the other retirements, Jolyon Palmer had a misfire on his reconnaissance lap to the grid and would have engine problems during the race, as would Max Verstappen was forced to retire for the fourth time in six races while challenging for third.

Raikkonen and Sergio Perez appeared to have retired due to damage, as the Finn incurred a puncture on the debris from the Force India collision but during the red flag both teams were able to solve the problems and get the cars back on the grid before both having to retire for different reasons later on.

Felipe Massa had eyes on the podium, challenging Vettel for second at one stage, but a damper issue after the red flag forced the 36-year-old to retire, that would be swiftly followed by Nico Hulkenberg, as the Renault driver made a rare mistake hitting the wall at Turn 7 and breaking the front-right suspension.

With the result, Vettel was able to extend his championship lead over Hamilton to 15 points, while similarly, Mercedes moved an additional 16 points clear at the top of the Constructors' standings ahead of Round 9 in Austria in two weeks time.

Fernando Alonso is still eyeing his first points of the 2017 season, hoping McLaren can produce a trouble-free race on the streets of Azerbaijan.

The Spaniard will be starting from the back of the grid after collecting a 40-place grid penalty for new engine components and the performance of MCL32 would suggest progress will be hard to make on Sunday.

However, with the weekend blighted by countless yellow flag interruptions as well as several red flag suspensions, high attrition and the chance for a surprise result does seem more likely. 

Knowing he along with team-mate Stoffel Vandoorne were always going to start on the back row, the double world champion revealed McLaren had opted to focus on race setup.

“We did a good job today in terms of preparing for the race: we only used one set of tyres, put in low fuel and did some checks," he explained. "We know we’re not competitive around here, but the race is going to be long and demanding.

“We’ve seen many mistakes from almost every driver and we need to avoid making any of those tomorrow.”

Despite being so reliant on problems ahead, Alonso, who tested the 'Spec 3' Honda power unit aimed at curing their ongoing issues on Friday, does still value in treating the race in Baku as any other he has participated in this year.

“In these kind of Grands Prix, we need to try and finish the race, get some data for the team, and keep developing the car,” he claimed.

“We need to make sure we keep away from the walls tomorrow and let’s also hope we can end up in the points."

Meanwhile, McLaren racing director Eric Boullier has been less gracious in his assessment of the British team's weekend so far.

"I am a racer, so I think this is the most painful weekend I have ever had," the Frenchman said.

"This afternoon's result was particularly disappointing - we always knew that we'd be towards the back due to the engine penalties both drivers have taken this weekend, but it's never satisfying to be right at the back of the grid."

Haas F1 driver Romain Grosjean has admitted some feeling personal responsibility for not overcoming the persistent braking issues that have blighted his time at the team.

It has been a story that has followed the Frenchman for almost a year, with the problems becoming more noticeable in the second half of last season and have seen the American outfit consistently struggle to find a lasting solution.

Tests have been done on materials produced by both Carbone Industrie and Brembo, who have supplied almost all the races, however, there is a growing sense that a problem with Haas' configuration of the brake-by-wire system is the more likely cause.

In Baku, though most drivers have been down an escape road at least once, Grosjean has suffered more than most with the inconsistency of the brakes the main factor in his Q1 elimination in qualifying.

"The problem is that I don't get the feeling and therefore I am not getting the best out of the car," Grosjean explained.

"There's a lot of things that could be better on the car but I am not saying that's why we are out, I'm just saying that when things are wrong in that aspect and I don't' get the feedback that I want, I am struggling to find where I should put the car.

'Today, I didn't get the feeling. It's as simple as that, I'm not searching for an excuse."

Instead, the former Renault and Lotus driver, who is becoming known for his radio rants, revealed his own struggle to adapt his driving style around the problems is also angering him.

"If you look at the bigger picture you can find a lot of areas, tyres too hard, brakes not [working] well, set-up maybe not perfect and so on. When that's the case I need to do a better job," Romain said.

"It's not set-up related it's just that when things are not great, I am struggling to find the real limit. We made the right choice for qualifying, the set-up was going in the right direction but like I say, when the deceleration zone is not to my liking, things are not happening as they should on the paper, then I get a bit confused and lost and I am struggling to drive."

When asked what he thought of his own abilities in regards to maximising braking zones, the 31-year-old responded: "Braking is my strength, since Formula Renault but when things are not working as I want, it's my biggest weakness.

"It could be my strongest point or my weakest point. So when it's not good I'm lost and I admit it. I need to work on that and I am sure that I can get better.

"The brake feeling has been terrible all weekend long, but Kevin [Magnussen] has got the same comment and he can drive around it. When the brake feeling is terrible we need to find a way that I can work with it.

"When they are great that's my strongest point in racing, I'm braking very late, very hard, turning the car with grace. When I cannot do that then I just need to find more tools."

Lewis Hamilton was delighted after securing his fifth pole of the Formula 1 season after producing an outstanding lap that saw the three-time world champion almost half a second clear of the field.

The Briton endured a slow start to the weekend on Friday, fearing a repeat of Monaco after finishing 10th in second practice, but was able to fight back and claim pole position from team-mate Valtteri Bottas on his final run.

What made the lap more impressive is Mercedes has been needing two warm-up laps before starting their flying laps this season, however, after Daniel Ricciardo hit the wall causing a red flag with three minutes to go, Hamilton was left with time for only one warm-up lap. But that did not stop him from reaching his 66th career pole and now stand second alone on the all-time record list only 2 away from tying top spot with record holder, Michael Schumacher.

Speaking after the session, Hamilton claimed the performance proved the hard work the team put in following a hard Friday and admitted he was not sure what to expect on Saturday.

“I haven’t really thought of what we could do here but I’d say definitely yesterday we were at a bit of a loss in the sense that we started in the wrong place and we had to make some changes overnight," he said.

"So to come in this morning not really knowing if those changes were going to be right, I know I’ve got full confidence in the team but still it’s very difficult with the tyres to switch them on and off.”

“Even if I got second it would’ve been awesome for one single lap, which I’m really proud of. My last lap in Montreal was pretty special but I think this one topped it.

“I went in with a lot of hope and worked just used every tool that I possibly had and more to get the temperatures and get the gap. It was do or die it was really about if there was ever a time for me to be perfect that was the time. I think it was the perfect lap.”

Moving towards the race, Hamilton did not rule a strong battle with Ferrari but is optimistic knowing that Ferrari is struggling with tyre temperatures which were initially the main strength for the Maranello-based team.

“I’ve not seen the exact gap but I think Kimi was saying the tyre temperatures were a bit of an issue. It’s unusual because it’s something that they normally don’t struggle with. So that’s an interesting fact that we have to take into account,” he said.

“I think Ferrari are still going to be there. Generally a one-stop race, so it’s going to be about consistency about how you can look after these tyres. The strategy will definitely come into play, but it’s not easy."

A sense of irritation in Sergio Perez was evident after coming shy of beating the Red Bull of Max Verstappen in qualifying for the Azerbaijan GP.

The two Force Indias had signalled they would again be a factor for the top three teams to consider after practice in Baku and, as Daniel Ricciardo fell by the wayside after hitting the wall in Q3, it was the two 'pink panthers' that again capitalised.

The Mexican, who finished third at the inaugural race at this venue a year ago, was a quarter of a second off the Dutchman in sixth, beating team-mate Esteban Ocon by less than a tenth of a second as the Frenchman claimed seventh.

"It was a good run," admitted Perez afterwards. 

"There was a lot of pressure on my last lap because I was a hundred meters from the finish line when Charlie (Whiting) decide to put the red flag down, but in the end, I think we got maximum we could today.

"We're really close to the Red Bulls, but not quite there," he added. "I really wanted to be closer to them.

"We've seen it many times, you have two categories in F1 and at the moment we are in the second category but hopefully, tomorrow is a long race, a lot can happen around here so we will see."

As for Ocon, he was pleased with what is his best result in qualifying in his F1 career to date, even if there was a tinge of disappointment of not beating the sister Force India.

"It’s the best qualifying position in my career and I am very happy with how the session went," the 20-year-old said.

"I made a tiny mistake on my fastest lap and that probably cost me a position, but as a team, we have been improving every step of the way.

"Today was all about pushing to the limit: I brushed the wall three times, something I didn’t do yesterday, but I wanted to give everything today.

"We are in a strong position for tomorrow’s race and we know anything can happen here. It’s a tight track and very tricky to get right."

Considering what will be key to a good finish, the former European F3 champion, claimed: "A strong first lap will be crucial, but the most important thing will be to finish the race. If you get to the end here, you can score big points.

"Our pace is good and I am confident we can get a good result."

Lewis Hamilton grabbed pole position from team-mate Valtteri Bottas by half a second in the final moments after a red flag halted Q3 at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

The Briton would post an incredible 1m40.593s as Mercedes proved they still have the absolute quickest on the grid, a massive 1.1 seconds faster than Kimi Raikkonen, who was third for Ferrari.

A precautionary engine change for Sebastian Vettel before the session saw the German on the back foot, but he would jump to fourth amid the flurry of fastest laps in the final minutes.

That dropped Max Verstappen's Red Bull down to fifth position, with the Dutchman's team-mate Daniel Ricciardo the man responsible for the red flag after hitting the wall exiting Turn 6. 

That would allow the Force India duo to finish sixth and seventh after a major battle between their two drivers saw Sergio Perez just ahead of Esteban Ocon as they were split only by a 0.075s.

Lance Stroll kept the good form building after the Canadian Grand Prix making it into Q3 for the second time this year and out-qualifying the sister Williams of Felipe Massa for the first time. The 18-year-old would claim eighth with the Brazilian ninth as Ricciardo completed the top 10.

The advantage of Mercedes power proved crucial in the midfield as the Toro Rosso’s missed Q3 by four tenths of a second, with Daniil Kvyat unable to maintain his positions from practice in 11th. Carlos Sainz would be 12th but will drop to 15th, following his three-place grid penalty for causing the first lap crash in Montreal, that will promote Kevin Magnussen onto the sixth row in the first of the Haas'.

Nico Hulkenberg failed to make Q3 and will start 13th after suspected electronic problems forced him to abandon Q2 early. There was also a strong performance from Pascal Wehrlein, as the German finished half a second clear of Sauber team-mate Marcus Ericsson and will start 14th.

Fernando Alonso was 16th quickest, as neither McLaren made it out of Q1, but will drop to the back due to his 40-place grid penalty alongside Stoffel Vandoorne in 19th place.

That means Romain Grosjean, who was not able to solve his braking problems as he struggled for a clean lap, will start 16th ahead of Ericsson and Jolyon Palmer after the Renault driver suffered a fuel leak in final practice that was not repaired in time for qualifying.

Moving towards the race, during long run practices, Mercedes timing was matched by Ferrari and Red Bull which promises an amazing fight in the race where not a single mistake will be forgiven.

Lance Stroll was satisfied after achieving his best qualifying result of his short Formula 1 career and also beat Williams team-mate Felipe Massa for the first time over a single lap in Baku.

It was another target box ticked for the young Canadian, who has often struggled to be within a second of the vastly more experienced Brazilian on Saturday's, but will line-up eighth on the grid for the race on Sunday.

Baku signalled the current European F3 champion's second appearance in the top 10 shoot-out this season, following on from that he achieved in China back in April.

“It was a good day and it has been a good weekend. I am comfortable and confident in the car,” Stroll, who has been consistent all weekend, said after the session. “I like the circuit and today everything fell into place.

As is the case with all F1 drivers, however, the 18-year-old wasn't totally happy, despite his performance, claiming: "I missed a bit in Q3, and I think there was some more that was possible there, as we were four-tenths off compared to my lap in Q2.

“In Q3, because the track temperatures had dropped, it was hard to get the tyres ready in one lap and also because of the red flag, we only had time to do one push lap,"  he added, explaining the reason for the time difference.

“Sometimes around here it is better when you do one push lap, then another prep lap and then another push lap. But it is still a great result and I am just happy for the team.”

Though many are suggesting Stroll's improvement comes from the confidence gained after his first points finish at his home race in Montreal, technical director Paddy Lowe would reveal work had been done with Lance at Austin's Circuit of the Americas since the last race.

"He went to Austin last week driving the 2014 car," he said. "They did a few experiments with set-up, looking at some of the differences between his set-up and Felipe's set-up and some of that's been brought forward here and I think it's put him in a much better place."

Despite the vastly different designs of the FW36 and this year's FW40, Lowe continued: "They had a whole day to do some straightforward experiments with stable tyres, good sets of tyres, run a programme. And they're fairly generic set-up directions that apply equally to a 2014 car as on a 2017 car.

"The trouble on a Friday [at a Grand Prix] is you've got limited time, limited numbers of tyres, they're often not the same type of tyre, then the track's moving quite quickly as well. It's a great advantage to be able to go and spend a whole day on something."

Valtteri Bottas set the best time in the final practice session ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix as problems hit both Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen.

Coming partially blind into Saturday after yellow flags heavily disrupted Friday, teams were expected to try to make use of the hour-long session, however, with conditions not reminiscent of qualifying later, that was not the case with only a maximum of 24 laps completed by a single driver, that being Daniel Riccardo.

Problems started early as Jolyon Palmer’s Renault caught fire in the first 10 minutes, after just four laps but later Vettel would miss much of the final 30 minutes and Verstappen would stop out on the circuit with 10 minutes left both with suspected hydraulics issues.

As was the case on Friday, many drivers struggled to find grip with several running into the escape roads at Turns 2 and 3. Romain Grosjean would also have a spin as he looked to make up for finishing bottom of the times in Practice 2.

Bottas would eventually emerge, however, posting a best of 1m42.742s as fellow countryman Kimi Raikkonen gave Ferrari their best spot so far this weekend in second, less than a tenth slower than the Mercedes.

Lewis Hamilton would have a better session in third with Ricciardo fourth as Red Bull’s domination on Friday was interrupted.

Ocon continued his good performance finishing fifth as Force India again had both cars in the top 10 with team-mate Sergio Perez in ninth.

Verstappen would be sixth despite his issues as Williams matched their pink rivals with Felipe Massa bouncing back after a slow start to the weekend in seventh. Danill Kvyat would make it three top 10 results in all three practices in eighth and Lance Stroll continued his strong form in ninth.

Nico Hulkenberg gave Renault some reason for optimism in 11th after Palmer's problems while McLaren, who have seen their combined grid penalties reach a total of 70 places, had Fernando Alonso in 14th, half a second clear of team-mate Stoffel Vandoorne in 16th.

Grosjean had the aforementioned spin as well as a long brake pedal in the final minutes as the Frenchman was only 17th, two places behind Haas partner Kevin Magnussen as the American team's poor weekend continued.

With many teams not enjoying a clean weekend and failing to finish their preset programs, it should make the qualifying session trickier and harder to predict, spicing things up for the fans.