Pastor Maldonado thinks it would have been "big news" if he had been the one to drive into Fernando Alonso in Abu Dhabi rather than the other way around.

Alonso was furious after the 2015 finale because of the drive-through penalty he received for the first corner collision, which came after he squeezed Felipe Nasr and out-braked himself into Turn 1. It meant Alonso speared Maldonado off the circuit, leading to the Lotus driver's immediate retirement from the race, though the McLaren was able to continue.

Though Alonso questioned why he should get a penalty after being hit by another driver, referring to Nasr, the reaction to the crash was muted. Maldonado, whose erratic driving has gained something of an unenviable reputation in F1, is convinced there would have been more media attention around it had roles been reversed.

"It's sad to end the race in the first corner because we were looking good for the race," Maldonado said after the race. "We had a good strategy to go with our better race pace, but anyway this is racing and it can happen. I didn't see the contact I just felt it in the back of the car from Fernando. I tried to restart but then I saw the suspension damage. Imagine if that incident had been the other way round, it would've been big news then!"

On top of his drive-through, Alonso received the first two penalty points on his superlicence as punishment for the incident.