Daniel Ricciardo insists the pressure on him ahead of his first full Formula One season is no different to what he has previously faced.
The 22-year-old Australian will partner Frenchman Jean-Eric Vergne at Red Bull-backed Toro Rosso after Swiss Sebastien Buemi and Spaniard Jaime Alguersuari were sacked at the end of last season.
But Ricciardo said he was unconcerned by the pressure of racing for Franz Tost's team, who replaced last year's drivers after judging them incapable of consistently winning Grands Prix.
"I feel pressure to deliver, yes, but it's not only pressure from Red Bull, it's pressure from myself. And not only this year, but since I joined with Red Bull four or five years ago," Ricciardo told Autosport.
"But even before that I put pressure on myself to try and get spotted by Red Bull, so I guess for my whole career. Basically every driver, to get to this level, has put pressure on themselves."
"Maybe there is some added pressure from Red Bull but if you want to be world champion then you know you have got to perform, and the only reason they kick you out is if you are not performing and then you don't probably deserve to be world champion."
Ricciardo, who raced the last 11 races of the 2011 campaign with Hispania, said he would have more time to focus on F1 in 2012.
"Since Christmas I have been able to prioritise this and only this and particularly last year was pretty intense when I was juggling Toro Rosso, World Series and then HRT - and there was a lot of travelling involved," he said.
"This year, I will definitely be better prepared and devote a bit more time to the job, to training and to focus with less interruptions."