Alex Albon welcomed Prime Minister of Thailand Paetongtarn Shinawatra into the Williams Formula 1 garage during the Friday of the Monaco Grand Prix weekend, amid talks of a potential F1 Grand Prix in Thailand.
Posting a behind-the-scenes look at Shinawatra’s visit, the Thai-British driver shared:
“Great to welcome PM @ingshin21 to my office this weekend! A bit noisier than my visit to the Thai Government House earlier this year. Thank you for making the time!”
Following F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali’s visit to Bangkok, Albon publicly supported the potential future race. He explained to the media in China:
“I’m super excited to hear the news about a possible Thai Grand Prix. It would mean the world to me for that to happen, and it would be another home race not just for me, but for Williams too. I’m very excited, it deserves to be on the race calendar.”
He added:
“Speaking to the other drivers in Formula 1, I know a lot of them haven’t been to Thailand before. I would be really excited to show them the culture of Thailand, the people, the food. I want to be their tour guide for the weekends!
Alex Albon, Williams
Photo by: Peter Fox / Getty Images
“Maybe we can go to some temples as well. I think it’s fantastic. I’d love to see Thai people more involved in the motorsport world and I’d like to try to help this happen in any way that I can.”
Domenicali has not shut the door on the potential Thailand Grand Prix just yet. After visiting Bangkok after the season-opening race in Australia, he explained that he was “looking forward” to the discussions continuing:
“I was delighted to meet with Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the prime minister of Thailand, and her team today to discuss their impressive plans to host a race in Bangkok. I am looking forward to continuing our discussions in the weeks and months ahead.”
Shinawatra visited the Grove outfit’s garage on the first day of practice in Monaco. Albon finished FP1 with the fourth fastest time, and FP2 in eighth.
