Why Alex Albon’s mother Kankamol Albon went to jail

Alex Albon's mother Kankamol Albon was jailed in 2012 and released three years later in a multi-million dollar scam.

Why Alex Albon’s mother Kankamol Albon went to jail

Alex Albon (via F1 oversteer) and Kankamol Albon (via Daily Mail)

Alex Albon made his Formula 1 debut in 2019 with Toro Rosso (now Racing Bulls), The British-Thai driver was bumped up to Red Bull midway through the season. He was ousted from Milton Keynes after the 2020 season and returned to the grid in 2022 with Williams. The 29-year-old has thrived since.

Albon’s mother, Kankamol Albon remains a controversial figure in the paddock. During season two of Netflix’s Drive to Survive, the British-Thai driver opened up about her mother’s arrest way back in 2008. Alex Albon had described the year as the ‘hardest’ in his life.

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Kankamol Albon was arrested for a massive scam amounting upwards of $8 million. She was handed a six-year prison sentence for running a luxury car pyramid scheme. She sold Ferraris, Bentleys and Rolls Royces to investors at discounted prices, with a plan of reselling the vehicles to gain a profit for investors.

However, the customers never received their cars with one vehicle being sold to multiple people. Kankamol Albon was sentenced to prison in 2012. She simply used the money coming from new customers to pay back old investors and insisted on bringing new ones onboard.

While victims of her scheme struggled to even retain their houses due to massive debts, Kankamol Albon enjoyed a luxurious life with a $5 million country home in Essex, England. Moreover, she even spent $13000 every year to send her five children to private school.

Kankamol Albon was released in 2015

Despite being given a five-year sentence in 2012, she was released in 2015. While her house was repossessed when she was convicted, with authorities even flagging her Mulberry handbag collection worth over $77,000.

Kankamol Albon insists that she has paid for the crimes she committed, and claims that Alex Albon has forgiven her for her actions. The period from her arrest to release was a dark time for the Albon family as she remained away in prison. Albon’s father Nigel had already separated from her some time ago. Alex Albon still races under the Thai flag, the country of origin of her mother. The family resides in England.

Red Bull wanted Alex Albon back

Red Bull Racing is currently in a phase of turmoil. Liam Lawson who replaced Sergio Perez this year was demoted back to Racing Bulls just two races into the season. Japanese driver Yuki Tsunoda will now takeover the mantle of matching Max Verstappen.

Alex Albon (via Planetf1)
Alex Albon (via Planetf1)

However, F1 presenter Lawrence Barretto recently revealed that Milton Keynes was looking to bring Alex Albon back to the team. Barretto insisted that Albon was the top name to replace Perez heading into the season. Unfortunately, Red Bull’s attempt was unsuccessful and the British-Thai driver remained with Williams.

Sources say they attempted to get Albon back for this season as a replacement for Perez but were unsuccessful.

Lawrence Barretto said, as reported by Crash.net

Certainly, Alex Albon seems much happier at Williams than he ever did at Red Bull. The 29-year-old is in a much better place in his career. He has even showcased some strong performances at the start of this season. As such, it is unlikely that Albon would consider a move back to Milton Keynes at least for the foreseeable future.