Formula 1 teen Max Verstappen faced up to his critics on Thursday and said the biggest crash of his fledgling career would have no impact on his approach to racing.
"It will not change me as a racing driver," he told reporters at the Canadian Grand Prix, his first appearance since the Monaco weekend where he smashed into the back of Romain Grosjean's Lotus and brought out the safety car.
"I will keep fighting and especially when you want to fight for points, I will still go for it," added the 17-year-old Dutchman, who was handed a five-place grid penalty for Montreal after stewards ruled he was to blame.
Verstappen, son of former racer Jos, said the main lesson learned was a positive one -- that the car was strong enough to allow him to walk away unhurt after ploughing head-on into the steel and foam barrier.
"I was happy about that, that I didn't have any injuries," he said. "I didn't have any problems after that, I went go-karting on Wednesday (afterwards), so I was fit again."
Brazilian Felipe Massa, who was sitting just along from him in a scheduled news conference at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, was critical of Verstappen -- Formula One's youngest ever driver -- in the immediate aftermath of the Monaco race.
The veteran Williams driver said then that the rookie's driving was 'pretty dangerous' and noted that "experience counts in Formula One".
Reminded of his words, former Ferrari driver Massa said he had been speaking before the stewards acted.
"I don't change my mind. That's what I believe. We need to follow the rules. I said what he did was wrong," added the Brazilian.
Verstappen, in reply, reminded the audience that Massa had crashed into the back of Sergio Perez's Force India in Canada last year -- although the Mexican was penalised for that rather than the Brazilian.
"Everybody can have their opinion, that's the first thing," said the Toro Rosso driver.
"But I looked at my data, I didn't brake any later...on the lap I crashed, it was exactly the same as the lap before and I got my penalty.
"I'm focusing on Canada right now and maybe you should review the race from last year and see what happened there," he added.
Verstappen accused Romain Grosjean, purposefully braking early - something the Frenchman angrily rejected.
"Max is really, really talented, and what he has been doing is quite impressive, but he has made a mistake," Grosjean told reporters.
"I find it disappointing he hasn't learned from it. Even this morning in the press conference he was saying, 'I'm going to drive the same way'. Formula One is dangerous, and you need to keep that in mind.
"We went to the stewards after the grand prix, I tapped him on the back and he could have said, 'I'm sorry'. But to then say he brake-tested me is completely wrong because I braked later than the lap before."
McLaren's Jenson Button, who made his debut as a 20-year-old in 2000, said the sport's youngest ever driver should choose his words more carefully.
"To point the finger at someone and say they brake-tested you, that's serious," said the 2009 champion. "I don't think that happens in motorsport these days, we're all grown-ups and we don't do things like that in Formula One."
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