Maldonado continued to drive for Lotus in the 2015 season. In March 2015, before the season started, the Lotus car suffered a brake failure causing him to crash during testing at Catalunya. At the , Maldonado was hit by Felipe Nasr and crashed out of the race at the second corner of the first lap after he overtook 3 cars at the start and was in 6th position. At the , Maldonado's car suffered a puncture after he was hit by Valtteri Bottas, and he was later given a 10-second time penalty for speeding behind the safety car. He accrued three penalty points on his licence for the infringement, taking his tally to eight within the previous year. At the , Maldonado suffered a brake issue that caused him to go off-track when entering the pits, and had to be recovered by the marshals. A couple of laps later he spun the car. On lap 49, Maldonado was hit by Jenson Button in a braking zone and spun; Maldonado was later forced to retire. At the start of the , Maldonado parked his car in the wrong grid slot, and accordingly, was given a 5-second time penalty. On the first lap of the race Maldonado was hit by Max Verstappen, damaging Verstappen's front wing; Maldonado also was hit by Massa's car, damaging its floor. Following the race, Maldonado admitted that his reputation for crashing comes because he takes more risks as he approaches the limits.