The two were fighting for 13th place when, on lap 32, Maldonado attempted to barrel down the inside of Ericsson at Turn 1. The Swede was already at the apex of the corner however, meaning Maldonado clipped the rear of the Sauber, pitching it into a spin.
While both were able to continue without serious damage, Maldonado was given a five-second time penalty for causing the collision. The Venezuelan eventually came home 11th on the road, which became 10th after Felipe Massa's exclusion. Ericsson was classified 16th.
"Unfortunately, Pastor made a move on me into Turn 1," Ericsson explained. "It was just too late. He hit the back of my car, spun me around and we had to pit to check for damage.
"I lost around 30 to 40 seconds and, obviously, the race was then compromised. Despite this I had a good pace, but we just lost too much time with what happened."
Ericsson admitted his start had also proved costly, after he dropped from 12th on the grid to 18th at the end of the opening lap.
"I think it was probably the worst start of my F1 career, as I had a lot of wheel spin and then almost dropped down to last," he confessed. "Overall it was a disappointing day, but the pace was promising."
In addition to his time penalty, Maldonado was given one penalty point for his part in the incident. He now has six penalty points on his licence, with 12 equating to an automatic one-race ban.
