Albon F1 helmet auction raises £84k for Thai orphanage
The auction of Alex Albon’s Formula 1 helmet for the Singapore Grand Prix has helped raise £84,000 to support an orphanage in Thailand.
Earlier this year, Albon visited the Wat Sakaeo orphanage near Bangkok that is supported by the Iceman Charity which is run by Volker Capito, the brother of Williams team principal Jost.
Albon dyed his hair red after visiting the orphanage back in March and later encouraged the F1 paddock to do the same as part of a fundraising push, which was furthered by a decision to auction off his Singapore helmet design that was designed by the children he met.
The helmet was eventually auctioned off for £84,075, pushing the overall fundraising for the orphanage through the Iceman Charity close to £100,000 for the year.
Following the conclusion of the F1 season in Abu Dhabi last weekend, Albon returned to Thailand to visit the orphanage to see the impact of the fundraising, which had allowed for the construction of a new sports hall that is set to be named after him.
“When I visited the orphanage in Thailand earlier this year I was determined to help in any way I could,” said Albon.
“With 2022 being my first year back racing in Formula 1, I wanted to use my platform to do good and give back to the Thai community. I was amazed to see the quality and creativity from the children when they started designing my Singapore helmet, and the results were super impressive.
Alex Albon, Williams
Photo by: Williams
“I wasn’t going to let my health scare in Monza stop me from racing that helmet in Singapore and I’m totally overwhelmed by how much money we have raised to help improve the facilities at the orphanage.
“I want to say a huge thank you to my fans that have donated and especially the very generous bidder that won my helmet.”
Albon told Autosport in an interview in May that he felt working with the orphanage was “an opportunity to do the right thing.”
“I'm quite shy and public things aren't my favourite things to be doing,” Albon said. “But I do feel that there's an element of responsibility to be able to do good. I do feel very much Thai and I want to do more and more projects that can give opportunities to people, to children, to whoever it may be in Thailand.
"Obviously, I feel like I'm in a great position to try and help. It's an opportunity for me to do the right thing. We've been able to donate quite a lot of money and we're not stopping, we want to keep going."
Helmet of Alex Albon, Williams
Photo by: Alex Albon
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