Nyck de Vries admits having his dream of racing in Formula 1 end just half a season into his debut "hurt".
The 28-year-old Dutchman finally got his chance to race full-time in F1 last year, but Alpha Tauri's owner Red Bull ousted him for poor performance mid-season - with the returning Daniel Ricciardo named as his successor.
De Vries struggled as the new Formula E season kicked off recently, having won that title in 2021.
"I'm still the same person," he told the Dutch magazine Formule 1. "It's not like I took a long break from motorsport after leaving F1. Only in terms of media."
Indeed, de Vries admits that his low profile in the media since his F1 sacking was deliberate.
"As I said at the time, it really hurt for a while," he said. "But that doesn't mean everything stops. Life is a journey and that was a part of it.
"As a person, you develop through all kinds of experiences. As you get older and you experience more, you put things into more perspective."
Indeed, since losing his F1 seat, de Vries has refrained from lashing out at Red Bull.
"You have to keep going," he insists. "What's the point of being negative or dwelling on disappointment for a long time? Or to feel sorry for yourself? That doesn't help.
"We are privileged to be drivers, so you look forward to new great things."
As he looks back on F1, however, he admits that he would or should have done some things differently.
"Yes, you know - I'm a perfectionist," said de Vries. "So I guess I'm never completely satisfied with how things are going or have gone. That's just my nature."
But he also admits that he appreciated those who said Red Bull's treatment of him after just half a season was unfair.
"Obviously the messages and support I received was nice," he said. "On the other hand, I deliberately did not follow the media. It just really didn't interest me for a moment.
"I think media attention should be about the racing, the sporting achievements, and not about peripheral issues, the surrounding things. I understand that it is your job, as media, and that there were questions. But I didn't see the point in seeking attention. I was simply no longer a Formula 1 driver.
"The only thing I thought about then was myself - what do I want, what do I think? And I knew I was determined to continue in motorsport in a positive way."
