Lance Stroll says he finds the criticism he has received during a tough start to his debut Formula One season "kind of funny".
The 18-year-old rookie is yet to score a point in the first five races of the year and retired in the opening three grands prix, while Williams teammate Felipe Massa has already recorded 18 points thanks to top 10 finishes in Australia, Bahrain and Russia.
Stroll has been involved in multiple incidents during his short tenure in the sport, colliding with Force India's Sergio Perez in China and Carlos Sainz in Bahrain, before spinning on the opening lap in Sochi. The Canadian finished over 10s behind Massa in Spain, despite the Brazilian having to make an extra pit stop and fight his way back through the field after suffering a first-lap puncture.
When asked if he thought criticism towards him is unfair, Stroll replied: "I won my championships to get here and I am here -- it's the first five races. It has been tricky but it doesn't just change everything. There's a long season ahead of me, we've had a fair share of bad luck in the first few races. I think there's been opportunities for points in certain races we've had some bad luck but in Russia I made a small mistake on lap one and there was definitely points there and we came 11th, so it's still early days.
"I come from a background where when I win, people try and put me down and when I lose, people try and put me down. I accept that and I actually kind of find it funny but whatever, it's out of my control. I am focused on what I am doing, I am enjoying my time in Formula One, I am enjoying the experience. At the end of the day I am here competing at 18 years old and it's very special, I am just taking it race by race.
"It's the same pressure as always," he added. "The pressure you put on yourself to come out and compete and do well. It's Formula One so there's obviously pressure but nothing more than in the past. I just have to take it race by race, focus on what you can do and the rest is out of your control."
Stroll faces another challenge this weekend with the prospect of arriving at one of F1's most unforgiving circuits and having no previous experience of driving it. Stroll says he is remaining level-headed about the new test but hopes he can get up to speed quickly.
"Realistically, it's one of those tracks where the more experience you have the easier it gets," he said. "I don't want to come into the weekend negatively where I am going to struggle, I am coming into it realistically that it's new, and challenging and it's going to take time. If I get surprised with my performance then great, if not, then we will work from there.
"I think you always got to come into the weekend with not any positive expectations or negative, you've got to come in neutral and work from where you kick off. Felipe's told me a few things about the track and the fact that it changes a lot through the weekend and all that. At the end of the day it's about me getting a feeling, getting used to it and taking it session by session."