Pastor Maldonado was fined €10,000 and given a reprimand by the FIA after his contact with Sergio Perez at Silverstone.

Both drivers had just made their pit stops when they collided as the Sauber tried to go around the outside of the Williams. Perez retired on the spot.

There has long been some tension between the two Latin American drivers, and Perez added to it in the aftermath of his retirement, saying of Maldonado “he has no respect for other drivers” and “he is just a very stupid driver.”

Maldonado insisted that he has simply lost control on cold tyres.

“I was on the inside of the corner, so the corner was mine at that moment,” he said. “He tried to close on me a bit, we were side-by-side, so close, and at that moment I lost the rear of my car and I just touched him.”

Asked about Perez’s comments, he said: “He’s always crying. In Monaco it was a normal incident. I think we need to value where it’s intentional and where it’s not. For sure it was clear it was not intentional.

“I’m looking forward to the next race and he can say whatever he wants. We are racing, you know, both of us were trying to do our best in the track. I was trying to defend a position, he was trying to gain the position, and this is racing you know. Otherwise everyone can race with the safety car, and it’s safer.”