Surprise winner Daniel Ricciardo doesn't expect the clash between Formula 1 world title rivals Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix to turn into a full-blown feud.

Ricciardo is also reluctant to join condemnation of Vettel, who drove into the side of Hamilton in a fit of anger after they collided before a restart during Sunday's chaotic race at the Baku street circuit.

Vettel has been widely and heavily criticised for the attack, which was in retaliation for what he perceived as Hamilton deliberately causing the German to run into the back of him.

The Australian, who was Vettel's junior teammate at Red Bull Racing in 2014, downplayed the incident as a "heat of the moment" response and predicted the uproar would blow over before next week's Austrian GP.

"I don't expect it to be like a feud that goes on between them," Ricciardo told Fairfax Media. "I think it'll be kind of pushed aside for the next one now."

Still high on his unlikely first victory of the season, Ricciardo said he had not given the controversy much thought beyond his initial reaction after watching replays of Vettel side-swiping Hamilton while the Azerbaijan GP was stopped to clear wreckage from the track.

Vettel, who switched from Red Bull Racing to Ferrari in 2015 after failing to win a race as Ricciardo scored three victories, was sanctioned with a 10 seconds pit lane penalty for "potentially dangerous driving".

He finished fourth, one place ahead of Hamilton, who was leading easily until safety padding on the side of the cockpit of the Englishman's car came adrift, forcing him to make an unscheduled pit stop to have it re-affixed.

Amid widespread condemnation of Vettel's rage Ricciardo expressed some sympathy for Vettel, in the midst of the German's world title battle with Hamilton and the disruptions to the race.

"I think the penalty and all that, through a lot of people's eyes, was the right call," he said. "It's hard from the outside to then put yourself in our shoes. You know, we've been racing hard and there's been stop-starts and safety cars, and your adrenalin is going up and down.

"You restart, you get going, then another safety car and you drop back down, and there's a lot of emotion involved as well – particularly in Seb's and Lewis's position. At the moment, they're fighting for the championship. It's still early days, but they're the ones at the moment.

"Look, it's a tough one to read, but for sure I think you just have to maybe sometimes sort it out after the race, maybe not on track."

Vettel is known for his outbursts behind the wheel, and while Ricciardo is reluctant to criticise him for deliberately ramming Hamilton, especially as it was slow-speed contact rather than at full racing pace, he admits that this time he may have gone too far.

"Look, I like Seb for his tenacity and his aggression and love for the sport, but sometimes…," Ricciardo said. "Sometimes he's just pretty instant with his responses or his reactions, and obviously Sunday that was one of them.

"It's heat of the moment, but it's all good. I'm sure that'll get cleared up."

Ricciardo won the Azerbaijan GP against the odds after starting from 10th on the grid following a qualifying crash and then an early pit stop that dropped him to 17th.

His charging recovery was the best of his now five race-winning drives and the highlight of the most eventful F1 race in living memory.

"Basically, no one else wanted to win, so I figured I would,' Ricciardo joked. "It was insane. It was just a fun race to be part of. Even if I didn't win the race, I still would've finished with a smile on my face.

"There was just battles everywhere. It was chaos. It was just fun to be part of such a wild race. Nice to win those ones, as well, that people are going to remember."

Ricciardo conceded his Red Bull racer is still lacking the front-running pace of the Mercedes and Ferraris, but was encouraged by his performance at Baku.

"We still have lap time to make up, but we are getting there and there were some good signs on the weekend on a circuit that isn't necessarily our strong one," he said. "Austria will be interesting. Again, on paper, it's not our strongest one, but you never know.

"Silverstone should be a bit better and I think Budapest is a good one. We should have a fair bit more in the car by that stage. So, yeah, if we don't find our way onto the podium in the next two, then I think Budapest will be a really good chance to get back up there."