Nyck de Vries hopes he put his Formula 1 career back on track on the streets of Monaco.
The 28-year-old Dutch rookie headed to the Principality having been warned by Red Bull’s Dr Helmut Marko that he perhaps only has three more races to rescue his seat after a disappointing start to 2023.
His friend and countryman Max Verstappen had advice for him early in the weekend.
"Trying even harder in such a situation does not work," said the reigning world champion. "You just have to race and not make things bigger than they are."
Ultimately, de Vries once again extended his losing streak to Alpha Tauri teammate Yuki Tsunoda in qualifying - but he then finished 12th in the race.
"It looks like we are getting closer to the top 10," the Dutch driver is quoted by Algemeen Dagblad newspaper.
"It is very close in midfield, so it can be different every weekend. But the speed we have is positive and if we build on this, it will eventually come our way," de Vries added.
"This was already a solid weekend, although you always want more. But we stayed out of trouble and got the car home. Our goal was to deliver a decent race and I think we succeeded.
"I don’t think we did anything wrong. I learned that you can’t force it. I must be patient."