Following a tough start to his season, rookie Nyck de Vries admits that he is not surprised that his future with AlphaTauri is already the subject of media speculation.

Crashes in two of the opening five races, and never finishing higher than 14th when he has made it to the flag, has led to speculation over the Dutch youngster's future.

With AlphaTauri having a reputation for being ruthless in terms of firing drivers that are considered to be under-performing it came as no surprise, particularly during the enforced 'spring break', when there was little genuine news around, for sections of the media to suggest that the Dutchman could be dropped in favour of Daniel Ricciardo.

Speaking at the start of the Monaco weekend, de Vries admits that the speculation doesn't surprise him, especially as he agrees that there have been "too many mistakes", but insists that he doesn't feel unduly pressurised.

"It's not a shock to me," the youngster told reporters in Monaco. "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," he added. "You've always got to perform, you've always got to deliver, and it's been like that throughout my whole career.

"As a driver, you always kind of fight for your survival, and you always need to deliver to continue your career forward successfully," said the rookie, who has reoortedly been given a gee-up by Red Bull's Lord High Executioner, Helmut Marko.

"It's how it's always been," he insisted. "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.

"I definitely think that I personally have made too many mistakes. I will admit that very openly. 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.

"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."

Check out our Thursday gallery from Monaco here.