Daniel Ricciardo admits he was fortunate just to complete qualifying in one piece at the Azerbaijan GP on Saturday, after a brief hit against the wall.
The Australian went into qualifying as one of the potential pole favourites after setting the best time in practice, however, when Mercedes and Ferrari turned their engines up, his Red Bull team was left trailing once again on the 2.2km main straight.
That meant it was up to the drivers to optimise their time in the corners but for Ricciardo, there was almost a repeat of history.
“Q3 on the first run we brushed the wall and lost some time,” he revealed.
“When I turned in I thought it was going to be more than a kiss. It was at Turn 15, where I crashed two years ago.
“The car turned enough but I still hit it. I knew I went in very fast, like too fast but it’s fine.”
The race winner two weeks ago in China would return to the pits, fearing damage to his tyre and would benefit from a slipstream behind Kimi Raikkonen on his final effort to claim fourth, just ahead of teammate Max Verstappen.
“Second row is pretty good for us on Saturday. In the end it’s not bad,” Ricciardo claimed.
“It was not the easiest session, Q2 was very close with the supersofts. We had a couple of yellow flags and it was difficult, but we just made it through.”
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The 28-year-old was also content with the gap to the front, knowing his Red Bull will be stronger in the race.
“I think Seb was about four tenths or something in front, so I think we can live with that for now,” he said.
“I think we’ll be closer again when we get to Barcelona and Monaco, but it’s not too bad around this circuit and it gives a good chance to be right there tomorrow.”
