Thai driver Williams has supported the Wat Sakaeo orphanage near Bangkok since moving to Williams as the brother of team boss Jost Capito, Volker, a longtime resident of Bangkok, who runs a charity that supports the ‘orphanage.
This relationship led to a visit from Albon earlier this year and his promise to help support the Iceman Charity push to renovate the orphanage’s gym, which will be renamed the Alex Albon Gym upon completion.
To help fund the project, Albon will take part in the Singapore Grand Prix this weekend with a helmet designed by the orphans, which will then be auctioned off with all proceeds going to the orphanage.
“They basically fundraise for their gym and it was up to them to design a helmet for me,” Albon said. “There were about 200 kids who got involved and they all tried.
“We’re going to auction off the helmet and we’re going to donate 100% of the proceeds to charity.”
The quirky light blue helmet features a big smile and several small designs on the front.
Another child designed the top half, depicting orphans holding hands around Albon’s personal logo, while the side of the helmet features an elephant, an important part of Buddhism and Thailand’s national animal.
On the back there is a drawing of Albon alongside two orphans wearing red shirts, a memento of the Williams driver playing football at the orphanage with the children, many of whom were Liverpool fans.
At the time of writing the headset has already received 26 offers, with the current bid exceeding £8,000. The auction, which is hosted on the F1 websiteruns until October 11.
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Photo by: Alex Albon
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Photo by: Alex Albon
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Photo by: Alex Albon
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Photo by: Alex Albon
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Photo by: Alex Albon
Speaking with Motorsport.com earlier this year about his charity campaign, Albon said he realized he was in a great position to help and felt it was an “opportunity to do the right thing.”
“I’m quite shy and public things are not my favorite activities. But I think there is an element of responsibility in being able to do good,” he explained.
“I really feel Thai and I want to do more and more projects that can give opportunities to people, children, anyone in Thailand.
“Obviously I feel like I’m in a great position to try to help. This is an opportunity for me to do the right thing. We’ve been able to give a lot of money and we’re not stopping, we want Continue.”
Albon returns to Williams’ cockpit after missing the Italian Grand Prix with appendicitis. Complications from the procedure caused Albon to have respiratory failure, which led to a stay in the intensive care unit.
But three weeks after his health scare, Albon says he no longer feels any pain and is “as fit as it gets”.
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