Maldonado was forced to pull off during the 90-minute session after his right-front shed a wheel nut, leading to a puncture. Although the wheel did not detach, the transgression comes against the backdrop of a similar incident the team were guilty of in Suzuka a fortnight ago, prompting the governing body to impose the large fine.

“The stewards noted that in this case the wheel had been retained on the car (unlike the similar incident in Suzuka two weeks ago) and that the cross threading of the wheel fastener contributed to the fastener coming off the car,” an FIA statement read.