Sauber's Pascal Wehrlein returns to duty this weekend in Bahrain after missing the first two races of the 2017 season.
Paddock pundits took aim at the young German driver in the wake of his decision to remain on the sidelines in order to upgrade his fitness level.
But Wehrlein is oblivious to the opinion of others on a matter they know nothing about, he says.
"I don't care too much what the others said, because they didn't know my situation," Wehrlein told the media in Bahrain today.
"And they were commenting on my situation. I think for me it was the right decision, and it was felt together with Monisha and with Toto. What the others drivers think, it's their opinion.
"If you don't know which injury someone had, you shouldn't criticise him. It's quite simple, you know.
"The injury wasn't something too serious, because I'm fine now, but if it was just some muscle pain, or anything else, do you think that Sauber or Mercedes would accept for me to not drive? Some negative comments I heard. I don't mind too much."
When he crashed at the Race of Champions earlier this year, Wehrlein fractured three vertebrae in the thoracic spine. And the subsequent immobility induced by the injury considerably reduced specific muscle potential.
"I couldn't move for quite a long time, and of course I was restricted a lot in my training. I lost a lot of muscle, so that was the main focus, to rebuild those muscles.
"I've trained a lot, obviously. I was in Austria, close to Salzburg, training with Erwin Gollner. It was quite intense training, so I spent most of the time there, training with him.
"I'm feeling definitely a lot better, so no comparison to Melbourne. I'm now back to where I should be to drive the car properly, and it's good."
Wehrlein is confident there will be no issues when he takes to the track tomorrow afternoon.
"It's my first race this year, and normally the more races you do, the easier it gets. But otherwise I think I will be fine in the car.
"No pain, that's the most important thing. The track is also quite flat, not many bumps. It's just a bit hot, but otherwise it's OK."
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