Max Verstappen has admitted that he asked himself a lot of questions after the death of Formula Regional driver Dilano van 't Hoff.
The 18-year-old lost his life in a multi-car crash at Spa-Francorchamps during a late restart in very wet conditions.
Verstappen was quick to post a tribute to his fellow Dutchman after the news broke, but it was a reply to his post that hit him hardest.
Van 't Hoff's sister replied to say that Verstappen was her brother's inspiration in racing, which raised a lot of internal questions for the reigning two-time champion.
"There was no fear. I don't have that now either, but I do think more about the possible consequences of my actions," Verstappen admitted to Formule1.nl.
"What could happen if...at the time you never thought about it, you drove purely on instinct. I'm not talking about Dilano now, because he was tapped by someone else, but in general, as a junior driver, you take more wild risks than later in life.
"When the news of Dilano's accident came out, I sent out a message on social media. A little later I saw that Dilano's sister had commented under my post: 'Max, you were his great example. Thank you for this message'.
"That response did something to me. Then I immediately think about my family. Then you think, 'S*** if this had happened to me, they would have… Then you think 'F***'.”