Formula One drivers from Thailand

Formula One drivers from Thailand
Drivers2
Grands Prix161
Entries161
Starts158
Best season finish7th (2020)
Wins0
Podiums2
Pole positions0
Fastest laps1
Points326
First entry1950 British Grand Prix
Latest entry2026 Dutch Grand Prix
2026 driversAlex Albon

As of 2026, there have been two Formula One drivers from Thailand.[1][2] Thai Formula One drivers have entered 161 Grands Prix, scoring 326 points between them.[1]

Alex Albon is the only Thai driver to have achieved a podium or set the fastest lap.[3][4][5] No Thai driver has ever won a race or taken pole position.[1]

Prince Birabongse Bhanudej made his debut in 1950 in a Maserati, racing for Enrico Platé.[6][7] Thailand's second driver, Alex Albon, made his debut in 2019 with Toro Rosso, before being promoted to Red Bull Racing after 12 races.[8][9] In 2022, he joined Williams Racing.[10]

Current drivers

Alex Albon, who is 17th in the 2026 World Drivers' Championship. Albon driving for Williams at the 2023 Italian Grand Prix.

Alex Albon is the second Formula One driver to race under the Thai flag.[2] He made his debut at the 2019 Australian Grand Prix for Toro Rosso.[11] He scored 16 points with the team,[a][12] before being promoted to Red Bull Racing ahead of the 2019 Belgian Grand Prix.[13] He ended the season with 92 points, finishing 8th in the World Drivers' Championship.[14]

Albon achieved his, and Thailand's, only two podiums at the 2020 Tuscan and Bahrain Grands Prix.[15][16][17] He finished 2020 in 7th place with 105 points, and was demoted to reserve driver for the following season with Sergio Perez taking his seat at Red Bull Racing.[18][19][20]

Albon returned to the sport in 2022 with Williams Racing, where he has been racing ever since.[21][22] During this time, he has driven over one hundred races with the team, surpassing Nigel Mansell's record for most race starts with them.[23][24] He also achieved his, and Thailand's, first and only fastest lap at the 2025 São Paulo Grand Prix.[25]

Former drivers

Prince Birabongse Bhanudej at the 1948 Zandvoort Grand Prix.

Prince Birabongse Bhanudej was the first Thai Formula One driver.[2] He was also the only Southeast Asian driver to compete in the sport until Alex Yoong joined in 2001.[26] Between 1950 and 1955, he entered twenty-one Formula World Championship races and started nineteen.[7][27][28] He drove in the sport's inaugural race, starting fifth in Enrico Platé's Maserati 4CLT, before ultimately retiring due to a fuel shortage.[29][30][31] Over his career, he also raced for Gordini and Connaught, Scuderia Milano and two privateer teams he owned.[2][27][32][33]

Bhanudej scored 8 points in Formula One.[34][35] His highest finish was fourth, which he achieved at both the 1950 Swiss Grand Prix and the 1954 French Grand Prix.[31] He finished 8th and 17th in the 1950 and 1954 seasons, respectively.[31][36][37] He was not classified in the World Drivers' Championship for the other four years of his career.[38]

The Bira Circuit, opened in 1986, was named after Bhanudej.[39]

All-time table

Drivers Active Years Entries Wins Podiums Career Points Poles Fastest Laps
Birabongse Bhanudej 1950–1954 22 entries (19 starts) 0 0 8 0 0
Alex Albon 2019–2020, 2022–2026 142 (139 starts) 0 2 318 0 1
Sources:[1][7][27][28][40][41][42]

Notes

  1. ↑ He finished within the points at the 2019 Bahrain, Chinese, Monaco, German, and the Hungarian Grands Prix.[12]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Thailand – Drivers". StatsF1.com. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "The Prince And I: The story of the last Thai F1 driver". BBC Sport. 27 November 2018. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
  3. ↑ "'It was quite tragic' – Alex Albon reveals how he celebrated his maiden podium on F1 Nation". Formula 1. Retrieved 26 August 2026.
  4. ↑ "'We had to be there to capitalise' – Albon '95% satisfied' with opportunistic podium in Bahrain". Formula 1. Retrieved 26 August 2026.
  5. ↑ "A Fastest Lap 11 years in the making". Atlassian Williams F1 Team. Retrieved 26 August 2026.
  6. ↑ "1950 Prince Bira Driver Standings". Formula 1. Retrieved 26 August 2026.
  7. 1 2 3 "Prince Bira - Grands Prix started". StatsF1.com. Retrieved 27 August 2026.
  8. ↑ "The start of the 2019 F1 season can't come quick enough for Alex Albon". Red Bull. Retrieved 26 August 2026.
  9. ↑ "Alex Albon named Red Bull second driver for 2020 F1 season". BBC Sport. 12 November 2019. Retrieved 26 August 2026.
  10. ↑ "Williams confirm Albon will remain with the team in 2027". Formula 1. Retrieved 26 August 2026.
  11. ↑ "Albon reflects on his path to 100 F1 race starts". Formula 1. Retrieved 27 August 2026.
  12. 1 2 "2019 Alexander Albon Driver Standings". Formula 1. Retrieved 27 August 2026.
  13. ↑ "Albon to replace Gasly at Red Bull from Belgium". Formula 1. 12 August 2019. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  14. ↑ "2019 Drivers' Standings". Formula 1. Retrieved 27 August 2026.
  15. ↑ Cheah, Josephine. "Sitting down with Alex Albon". Red Bull. Retrieved 27 August 2026.
  16. ↑ "2020 Bahrain Grand Prix report and highlights: Hamilton wins Bahrain GP interrupted by huge Grosjean crash, as Perez suffers late heartbreak". Formula 1. Retrieved 27 August 2026.
  17. ↑ "Thailand - Podiums". StatsF1.com. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  18. ↑ "2020 Drivers' Standings". Formula 1. Retrieved 27 August 2026.
  19. ↑ Coleman, Madeline (23 July 2026). "Alex Albon: From Red Bull's reserve to Williams' record breaker". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 August 2026.
  20. ↑ Harrison, Tom. "Sergio Perez will drive for Red Bull in 2021". BBC Top Gear. Retrieved 27 August 2026.
  21. ↑ "Alex Albon returns to F1 race seat with Williams in 2022 alongside Nicholas Latifi". Formula 1. 8 September 2021. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  22. ↑ "Alex Albon: Williams driver signs one-year contract extension to remain with team for 2027 F1 season". Sky Sports. Retrieved 27 August 2026.
  23. ↑ "Albon marks Williams milestone with Mansell-inspired helmet". Formula 1. Retrieved 27 August 2026.
  24. ↑ "Albon reflects on journey to 100 races with Williams". Formula 1. Retrieved 27 August 2026.
  25. ↑ "DHL Fastest Lap Award – 2025 Sao Paulo Grand Prix". Formula 1. Retrieved 27 August 2026.
  26. ↑ "Alex Albon: The latest chapter in Southeast Asia's F1 story". Formula 1. Retrieved 27 August 2026.
  27. 1 2 3 "Prince Bira - Involvement". StatsF1.com. Retrieved 27 August 2026.
  28. 1 2 "Prince Bira - Grands Prix not started". StatsF1.com. Retrieved 27 August 2026.
  29. ↑ "10 fascinating facts about the very first F1 race". Formula 1. Retrieved 27 August 2026.
  30. ↑ "Ten fascinating facts about the very first F1 race". Formula 1. Retrieved 27 August 2026.
  31. 1 2 3 "B Bira". Motor Sport Magazine. Retrieved 27 August 2026.
  32. ↑ Donnelly, Jim. "Prince Bira". Hemmings Motor News. Retrieved 27 August 2026.
  33. ↑ "Brooklands Stories: Prince Bira". Brooklands Museum. Retrieved 27 August 2026.
  34. ↑ "1954 Prince Bira Driver Standings". Formula 1. Retrieved 26 August 2026.
  35. ↑ "Prince Bira - Points". StatsF1.com. Retrieved 27 August 2026.
  36. ↑ "1950 Drivers' Standings". Formula 1. Retrieved 27 August 2026.
  37. ↑ "1954 Drivers' Standings". Formula 1. Retrieved 27 August 2026.
  38. ↑ "Prince Bira - Seasons". StatsF1.com. Retrieved 27 August 2026.
  39. ↑ "Thailand Grand Prix being considered for 2014 or 2015". Autoweek. Retrieved 27 August 2026.
  40. ↑ "Alexander Albon - Grands Prix started". StatsF1.com. Retrieved 27 August 2026.
  41. ↑ "Alexander Albon - Grands Prix not started". StatsF1.com. Retrieved 27 August 2026.
  42. ↑ "Alexander Albon - Involvement". StatsF1.com. Retrieved 27 August 2026.
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