The heart-warming story behind Albon’s red hair craze

When former Red Bull and Toro Rosso driver Albon was signed by Williams it seemed like a coup for both parties. For Albon, a way back into a race seat after spending 2021 on the sidelines. And for Williams it presented a chance to fill the void left by the Mercedes bound George Russell with a fast and experienced replacement.

But a twist of fate surrounding Albon’s Williams drive also presented him with a chance to start making his mark outside the cockpit.

Since his ascent through the ranks to become Max Verstappen’s team-mate at Red Bull halfway through 2019, Anglo-Thai driver Albon has become a celebrity in Thailand, the country he represents on his racing licence.

But by signing for Williams he found out from team boss Jost Capito that he now gained another connection to his mother’s native country.

Capito’s younger brother Volker has been a Bangkok resident for over two decades. In the 80s he was part of the crew when his brother Jost and their father won the 1985 Paris-Dakar for trucks.

While Jost continued a successful career in motorsports, which included stints at BMW, Sauber and Volkswagen, the Dakar sparked Volker’s sense of adventure as he moved to Thailand to run an event planning consultancy. With his logistical expertise he is a pillar of large scale events such as the annual Race of Champions, but otherwise he isn’t involved in racing like his brother.

Since 2004 Volker has made it his personal mission to help out the roughly 2500 underprivileged children that call home the Wat Sakaeo orphanage, some 100km north of the sprawling Thai capital.

In the Buddhist country, New Year’s Eve doesn’t merit the celebration it does abroad, but many people use the occasion to do a good deed. To mark the start of 2004, Capito and a friend decided to donate 25kg of rice…