I had something similar that happen to me at the weekend in canada... got taken out, hit the wall, went airborne and then landed on a car only to be given a penalty!
Had another race where one guy blitzed me at a hairpin and the next chicane, both full on contact where he used me as a break and he got nothing for it when i checked at the end of the race!
The penalty system used in the game does seem to be rather random at times...