Sebastian Vettel's former Red Bull team-mate Daniel Ricciardo has said the German "sometimes doesn't think before he acts", after seeing the incident between Vettel and Lewis Hamilton, which saw the Ferrari driver deliberately drive into the side of the Mercedes driver.
Speaking to reporters after the race, which Ricciardo won when Hamilton had to pit for a loose headrest and Vettel was penalised with a10-second stop and go penalty, the Australian said Vettel's act was probably a result of immense "passion" and "hunger", but is also another example of him going "crazy".
"Seb probably sometimes doesn't think before he acts," Ricciardo told the BBC. "It's probably driven through passion and hunger. He's kind of just got to put a lid on it sometimes."
"I respect Seb a lot for his grit and his love for the sport, which turns into a lot of passion and sometimes aggression. I respect and like that about him.
"But today you have seen… whether it's over the radio, sometimes he will just go crazy. It is probably – what's the word? – spur of the moment? There's a better word."
Vettel's 'revenge' came after he accused Hamilton of brake checking him, but the FIA cleared the Briton of that and Ricciardo added that it's his job to dictate the pace, not Vettel's.
"Look, whether Lewis slowed down or not, he has every right to dictate the pace. He's the leader, and it was too early for him to accelerate.
"You're not going to make the restart out of Turn 15. Seb was probably just a little bit over-excited."
Ricciardo's boss, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner, described the incident as a "tourette's moment" on Vettel's behalf.
"He's obviously had momentarily, a tourette's moment, " he added. "Emotions are running high, they're fighting for a world championship. I think it's an immense bit of rivalry between the two of them for the rest of the season.
"It looked like Sebastian obviously felt that Lewis brake-tested him and then it just looked like a red-mist moment, where he's lost it and taken a swipe at him, which was only ever going to result in a penalty. But it's heat of the moment stuff. A penalty was inevitable after that."
