Following his podium finish at Mugello it appeared that Alex Albon had finally turned a corner, and was about to prove the doubters wrong.

Unfortunately a tenth-place in Sochi was followed by a DNF at the Nurburgring and a 12th in Portugal. At Imola he looked likely to add to his tally, only to spin whilst being overtaken by a hard-charging Sergio Perez.

While TV pundits and social media experts cry 'enough is enough' and call on Red Bull to call time on the youngster, Albon believes his recent form has not been as bad as it appeared.

"Obviously Mugello was the last race that I had a good result on really but it hasn't been terrible," he told reporters in Istanbul.

"Qualifying hasn't really changed too much," he continued, "it's been more or less the same, if not, sometimes a bit better. It's more or a less losing a little bit of time at the start of the races and once you're in the trains it's really hard to overtake.

"I think Mugello was a nice one because you can overtake but it has been quite tricky once the leading car in the group let's say dictates the rest. I would say that's probably more of a reason for it.

"Of course, here in Turkey it's a good track for overtaking and you can do different lines. Firstly, I want to qualify higher and have a smoother race."

It's understood that whatever happens, Albon will retain his seat for the rest of the season, however Helmut Marko and Christian Horner have made clear than unless there is a vast improvement they will be looking for someone who can close the gap to Max Verstappen. With Pierre Gasly confirmed at AlphaTauri, the Austrian outfit is understood to be looking outside its own pool of talent, with Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg widely tipped to be under consideration.

Check out our Thursday gallery from Istanbul, here.

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by flyinglap, 12/11/2020 19:33

"One thing that is amazingly overlooked and almost never mentioned in relation to Albon and Red Bull, is that the majority shareholders of Red Bull GmbH are the Yoovidhya family of Thailand, heirs of Chaleo Yoovidhya, the originator of the Krating Daeng energy drink, which was the basis for the creation of Red Bull in partnership with Dietrich Mateschitz back in 1984. That Thai nationality must surely count at least for some extra goodwill, in addition to Albon being indeed a fine driver who could already be a race winner at only his second season in Formula 1 were it not for a disputable contact with Hamilton. Therefore, his Red Bull seat for 2021 should be pretty much secure despite the “speculation”. The reason it has not been officially confirmed yet is probably “educational”, in order to pressure him to dig even deeper within himself and transition his performance to a higher, unconditional level (the mark of a champion), if he will be able to. Regardless, he is definitely worthy of a place in Formula 1, like many others, more or less.

"

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2. Posted by KKK, 12/11/2020 17:44

"I wish Red Bull and the Media would lighten up on him. Im sure that he doing a good job, especially as he definitely the No 2 driver and all the best bits and mechanics are not on his car. He is good, so why waste his talent?
"

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Albon plays down recent run of poor form

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