Nyck de Vries relaxed about replacing Russell at ART

Nyck de Vries insists he is keeping calm over his new Formula 2 seat with ART, effectively replacing the reigning series champion George Russell.

De Vries raced with Prema last year, taking over the seat from Charles Leclerc, who won the series in style on his way to a Formula 1 seat with Sauber.

The Dutchman said that he is much more relaxed about filling the champion's shoes this year, and still is determined to walk away from the series with the title under his belt.

"I feel more relaxed about it than last year to be honest," de Vries told Autosport. "Of course, winning [the championship] is always the target.

"I do feel that when I joined Prema they had a dominant season [in 2017 with Leclerc] and then there was a new car introduced but there were a lot of expectations.

"Last year everyone was really close although I believe George really deserved the championship and he won it.

"Everyone had their ups and downs. My chances are equal [between this year and last year], they are extremely good teams, it's just up to the team and myself to extract the most out of it."

De Vries is hoping that his new team can be consistent in 2019, which he believes will allow him to fight for the championship.

"We clearly have the package to be there, but you have to be careful and take the points on the day and maximise the most of the situation," he said. "Just referring back to last year, I think that's where we lost out a little bit."