After driving in both Formula One practice sessions at the Italian Grand Prix, Alex Albon has been diagnosed with appendicitis and will be replaced for the remainder of the weekend.
Albon will undergo surgery Saturday (Sept. 10) and is expected to be back for the Singapore Grand Prix. However, he’ll miss the remainder of the F1 weekend at the Monza Circuit.
The Thai-British driver’s seat at Williams will be filled for the rest of the weekend by Nyck de Vries. de Vries is technically employed by Williams’ engine provider, Mercedes, but has practiced for three of the four Mercedes-powered teams as part of the mandated Free Practice One young driver program. The Dutchman actually did so on Friday, replacing Sebastian Vettel in FP1 for Aston Martin and finishing 18th, albeit while running an experimental aero setup in the session.
de Vries, who won the F2 championship in 2019 and the Formula E championship in the singular 2020-2021 season, has also been rumored to be a frontrunner for an open Williams seat in 2023, along with the team’s F2 prospect Logan Sargeant. Either driver would be replacing Nicholas Latifi.
Following on from this, we can confirm that the team’s Reserve Driver Nyck de Vries will drive in place of Alex for the remainder of the Italian Grand Prix weekend. Alex is in good spirits and the team wishes him a speedy recovery.#WeAreWilliams #ItalianGP pic.twitter.com/4tgyGBD0BU
— Williams Racing (@WilliamsRacing) September 10, 2022
Albon, in spite of his ailment, gave a statement that indicates the driver is in good spirits.
Appendicitis, surgery and no racing isn’t what I was expecting this weekend!
Negatives:
– Missing out on what looks like a strong weekend for us
– PainPositives
– Weight reduction for Singapore
– Cool scars pic.twitter.com/HOfA18eF5W— Alex Albon (@alex_albon) September 10, 2022
Following FP3, de Vries ended up 14th on the lap time board, just behind teammate Latifi in 13th.
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