After visiting a panda sanctuary in Chengdu with partner Lily Muani He, Albon unveiled an eye-catching design for the Chinese GP. The helmet featured white and black details with two large panda eyes above the visor and a smiling mouth underneath it. The design amused fans and pundits alike and is one of the standout lids of the season so far.
Kravitz caught up with Albon during his notebook segment for Sky Sports F1. “What will happen to the panda helmet, I want to know. Will you keep it? The best thing of the weekend is your panda helmet. What’s going to happen to it?”
Albon jokingly responded: “Straight on eBay,” before letting out a chuckle. “No I’m joking,” he followed up, before Kravitz probed: “It’s going to be pride and place? That’s the best thing about your weekend – It has been your panda helmet.”
The Thai-British driver replied: “Thank you! Was Crofty complaining about it?” Kravitz, taken aback by the Williams star’s comment, hit back: “He was! How did you know? Did he complain to you personally?”
Explaining his thought process, Albon noted: “No he didn’t. I know he’s got a funny thing about helmets.” Kravitz, cancelling out his colleague’s distaste, responded: “I thought it was lovely!” The Williams racer wasn’t finished though, adding: “He’s just a boring old man,” before giggling and walking into the garage.
Unfortunately for Albon, while his helmet earned him plenty of praise and screen time, there was little to celebrate at the Shanghai International Circuit. The 27-year-old was classified in P12 but rarely threatened to break into the top ten throughout the Grand Prix.
There was even less to celebrate for his Williams team-mate Logan Sargeant, who qualified slowest and was also classified last of the runners in P17 when the chequered flag dropped in Shanghai. This wasn’t the end of the woes for the American, who picked up a ten-second post-race penalty for overtaking Nico Hulkenberg under the safety car.
The end result for Williams and James Vowles was more lost ground on rivals Haas with Hulkenberg capping off another impressive qualifying performance by stealing the final point on offer. The Grove-based outfit are one of three teams, the others being Alpine and Sauber, yet to claim a point in 2024.