Alex Albon will continue to race under the Thai flag in the upcoming 2022 season as the World Anti-Doping Agency is to reinstate Thailand following sanctions.
Written by Hugh Waring, Edited by Morgan Holiday
Williams Racing driver Alex Albon is set to drive under the Thai flag, following the reinstatement of Thailand into the World Anti-Doping Agency. Previous infringements by the country's National Anti-Doping Organisation had led to sanctions being placed in October. One such ruling by the WADA was that the Thai flag could not be flown in major world championships or events such as the FIA Formula 1 Championship.
Thailand’s NADO has introduced new anti-doping laws which will be compliant with WADA, and this will mean that Thai athletes in all sports will be able to fly the national flag. This will include Williams’ new signing, Alex Albon, who has raced previously under the Thai flag for Toro Rosso and Red Bull between the 2019 and 2020 seasons.
Albon has chosen to race under the Thai flag as he holds dual nationality. These original sanctions would have still allowed Albon to compete under the flag, but not under ‘any official capacity’. This would rule against the use of the Thai flag under the event of Albon stepping onto the podium.
The sanctions that are currently imposed against Russian athletes, such as Nikita Mazepin differ from the sanctions against Thai athletes. Mazepin, currently racing for Haas F1 Team, races under the Russian Automobile Federation, with these sanctions set to end following the conclusion of the 2022 season.
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