Ricciardo, Verstappen handed reprimands for Baku clash

Red Bull Formula 1 drivers Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen have been handed reprimands for causing a collision during Sunday's Azerbaijan Grand prix after crashing at Turn 1 while battling for fourth position.

The Red Bull duo had been battling over fourth and fifth throughout an action-packed race in Baku, with both drivers rubbing bodywork in the early stages as they exchanged positions. 

Having lost out to Verstappen during the pit stop window, a visibly-faster Ricciardo slotted into his teammate’s slipstream and looked to make a move to reclaim fourth, but slammed into the rear of Verstappen's RB14 - taking both drivers out on the spot under braking for Turn 1.

Neither driver pinned the blame for the incident on each other, with the stewards handing both Verstappen and Ricciardo their first reprimand of the season.

"The Stewards heard from Daniel Ricciardo, the driver of car 3, Max Verstappen, the driver of car 33 and the team representative. Both drivers contributed to the collision," the stewards' decision reads.

"The driver of car 33 made two moves, both of which were relatively minor. The driver of car 3 admitted he left his move to overtake on the left, too late.

"It was obvious to the stewards that although the incident had its origins in the moves by car 33, the driver of car 3 also contributed to the incident.

"Both drivers expressed regret about their respective contributions to the incident, during the Stewards’ hearing."

More to follow...