As he waits on Red Bull's decision on whether he will be retained for 2021, Alex Albon insists he has "done everything" he could to keep his seat.

No disrespect to Max Verstappen, following what was a very impressive performance, particularly in qualifying - but the 2020 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is not a race that will linger in the memory for long.

Indeed, on a day the drivers' various new helmet liveries caused the most excitement, there was little to take away from the season finale.

That said, Alex Albon put in a decent performance, so much so that the 'mob chat' on social media wasn't so much about why he should be dropped, but concern when he began to reel in Lewis Hamilton in the closing stages of the race, after all the pair have history.

As Red Bull ponders whether to give the youngster another year or bring in a driver outside the Austrian team's pool of talent, Sergio Perez being the most likely candidate, Albon feels he has done enough to convince the team to retain him.

"I feel like it's been my best weekend, in terms of performance," said the youngster, adding: "I want to say thanks for a lot of support from the guys at the factory and here. We didn't give up, we kept trying to find solutions and getting me more comfortable with the car, and it is a tricky car to drive.

"But to keep pushing and to have my best result, obviously under all the pressures of the weekend and everything going on, I'm proud of myself, and I felt like it was a good closing end to the year.

"If it's enough or not, it's not mine to say really," he admitted. "But of course, I feel like I've done everything. I'll leave it in the hands of the others to decide."

"Alex has done a very good job today," team boss, Christian Horner subsequently told Sky Sports. "It's probably been his strongest collective weekend of the season, and he's driven a good race. He was putting Lewis under pressure at the end of the race there.

"That now gives us a complete set of information to go away and analyse it," he added, "and work out what we're going to do."

Referring specifically to Albon's performance in the race, he said: "The only way you can put Mercedes under pressure... if for example they split their strategy we could have been very exposed.

"Certainly at the end of the race Alex was able to close on them as he obviously lost a bit of ground at the beginning of the stint after the safety car.

"Alex has driven a good race and he has had a solid weekend," he added.

Asked when a decision might be expected, he laughed and replied: "I'm sure you guys will know as soon as we've made it. It's not going to take too long."

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by TokyoAussie, 16/12/2020 3:50

"I have a feeling that Albon has just done himself in with that statement. Saying "I feel like I've done everything" kinda sounds like that the Abu Dhabi race is the best we'll ever see from him. I doubt that is going to be good enough. "

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2. Posted by alvarezh3, 14/12/2020 22:32

"Correction: Thai flag."

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3. Posted by alvarezh3, 14/12/2020 22:26

"Albon has British and Thai nationalities, remember that Red Bull is an original Thai beverage that is home to one of the two mayor stock holders on the company, the Yoovidhya family. He races in F1 under the Thai fag.

Additionally, I believe that Albon is his family's bread provider. Nigel Albon, Alex's father is divorced from his mother and his mother Kankamol, who got in trouble with the law in Britain, lives with Alex together with his younger brother and sisters.

The question is : How much weight those two facts carry in keeping Albon on the team? The answer to that can only come from Dr. Marko, supreme commander of Red Bull's drivers cavalry division.

I would give Albon another year and contract Perez at AlphaTauri. If Albon fails, they have Sergio ready instantly.

Meanwhile, there are rumors on the net saying that RB will confirm SP at RB next week. We'll see. "

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4. Posted by @R1Racing71, 14/12/2020 20:56

"I’m a bit of an Albon fan, he is a lot better a driver than his recent results would indicate.
He is lined up again at the fastest man on the grid, in a team that is fully focused on the other car. It also doesn’t help that his team are very quick to blame their other driver in public - and then fire them mid season.

As much as Perez deserves his place on the grid, I would argue that he would not be any closer to Max in qualifying than Alex, in fact I’d suggest he would be further away taking into account his performances against Jenson and Ocon.

Perez rightful place is alongside Seb in next years Aston - which in this old fools opinion is a stronger line up.
And while we are on the subject of this years pink Mercedes, I’d also argue the car capable of a much faster lap time than the current driver line up are delivering.

"

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5. Posted by estoril85, 14/12/2020 19:28

"The problem is that Perez should be on the grid in an Aston Martin based on his performance this year. I can understand them going for Seb as they are having a big rebrand and Seb as an ambassador for Aston Martin is a very good fit, especially when it comes to the German luxury car market! They were never going to drop the bosses son so unfortunately , Perez lost his seat. The problem fo Red Bull though, is that Perez getting Albons drive makes a mockery of the Red Bull driver program on the one hand and upsets the team dynamic on the other , remember Perez and Ocon at Force India, well I can see it happening again with Max, should they choose that route. Albon is a very talented young driver who is a good team mate for Verstappen, who I consider to be the fastest driver on the grid now, IMO , Max would lap that Red Bull at least 0.3 seconds a lap faster than any other driver on the grid bar Hamilton , Leclerc and possibly Russell . I would stick with Albon and hope to see Perez back in 2022 in a decent car."

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6. Posted by F1 Yank, 14/12/2020 17:30

"Yeah, not really sure of what to think. It seems like ALB will be swapped out for PER. ALB has hit the mark this year and acclimated very well. I couldn't have hoped for more and it wouldn't be a good idea to push the expectations to an unrealistic level for any driver in his spot. However I will say that PER has done really well and his aggressive driving as of late and first place finish was something that raised a few eyebrows. JMO"

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7. Posted by Motorsport-fan, 14/12/2020 9:30

"The drivers that came up through the ranks with Alex all say he was the best of the bunch, this is what happens when a teams development focuses on one driver."

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"I've done everything," insists Albon

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