The Lotus driver came together with Sauber's Marcus Ericsson as he tried to pass at the Senna S, spinning the Swede and forcing him to pit for damage to be checked. Maldonado was given a five-second penalty at his next pit stop, but finished 10th after Felipe Massa's exclusion, while Ericsson could only recover to 16th.

Kaltenborn said the fact it was Maldonado who hit Ericsson made it more frustrating.

"Marcus' car was clearly in front of him and he literally just drives into him," Kaltenborn said. "What should one say? It's not the first time he has been involved in such an incident. It's very, very annoying that it is once again him.

"Marcus was driving well, having recovered from a mistake at the start when he ran wide, and then Maldonado just dived down the inside and clipped him. It's very frustrating."

Lotus trackside operations director Alan Permane argued the penalty for Maldonado was "harsh". The Brazilian GP incident was only Maldonado's second collision-related penalty of 2015. He was previously punished for colliding with Sergio Perez in the Hungarian GP.

Those incidents account for three of the six penalty points on his license this season, with the other three due to speeding during a safety car period in Malaysia.