AlphaTauri rookie Nyck de Vries says he isn't surprised but the exit rumors that have come to the fore, insisting F1 is a sport where drivers "always have to deliver".
Five races into F1's 2023 season, de Vries has never finished higher than P14 on Sunday, while his outings in Melbourne and in Baku were marred by crashes.
The Dutchman's struggles fueled a wave of speculation that the 28-year-old could be heading to the exit door at Faenza if he doesn't soon put a good result under his belt.
Red Bull motorsport boss Helmut Marko played down the rumors but admitted handing de Vries a "yellow card" signifying that he needs to step up his performance.
De Vries wasn't surprised by Marko's forewarning, and he knows the pressure is slowly mounting but considers this part and parcel of the world of F1.
"It's not a shock to me," the Dutchman told the media in Monaco on Thursday.
"It's normal, it's this industry, it's always been like that, in Red Bull and in Formula 1.
"I genuinely believe that it's no different than earlier in the season. You've always got to perform, you've always got to deliver, and it's been like that throughout my whole career.
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"I think as a driver, you always kind of fight for your survival, and you always need to deliver to continue your career forward successfully. It's how it's always been.
"You might not believe me when I say it, but I honestly don't think there is more pressure than there has been at any other time."
While immune to pressure, at least for now, de Vries is nevertheless fully aware of the reasons why he has been put on notice at AlphaTauri.
"I definitely think that I personally have made too many mistakes. I will admit that very openly," he candidly added.
"I also believe that the pace has been strong at several moments, and that kind of encourages me and gives me confidence.
"But I haven't been able to execute it at the end and haven't been able to put it together. But I do believe the speed has been kind of there.
"But equally, I have made too many mistakes to turn that into a result. But that's kind of a part of the learning process you go through and sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn't.
"We're all human, we make mistakes, and we move on."
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