A statement from Williams revealed that Albon is being treated for appendicitis. “Williams Racing can confirm that, after feeling unwell this morning and seeking medical advice from the FIA and local hospital, Alex Albon is now being treated for appendicitis,” the team said. “Following 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. Appendicitis, surgery and no racing is not what I expected this weekend! Negatives: – Losing what looks like a strong weekend for us – Pain Positives – Weight reduction for Singapore – Cool scars pic.twitter.com/HOfA18eF5W — Alex Albon (@alex_albon) September 10, 2022 De Vries, the 2019 Formula 2 and 2021/22 Formula E champion, is Mercedes’ reserve driver and is available to its customer teams if needed. He is present at Monza, having already taken part in the Monza weekend, albeit with a different team. De Vries drove for Aston Martin in Friday’s first practice, fulfilling one of the team’s authorized rookie outings. This will speed up his adaptation, which will be further helped by the fact that he also drove for Williams in an FP1 earlier this year. De Vries drove the FW44 in Spain and also took part in FP1 in France for Mercedes. That makes him perhaps the most experienced non-full-time driver in terms of 2022 machinery, with the possible exception of Nico Hulkenberg, who raced in the first two Grand Prix weekends for Aston Martin. This shock invitation is a great opportunity for de Vries to push his case for a Williams race seat in 2023. He is in the running to replace Nicolas Latifi, despite previously being slated to take on a dual FE and World Endurance Championship schedule.
De Vries’ open wheel career
2012 – fifth in Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 (champion – Stoffel Vandoorne)2013 – fifth again in Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 (champion – Pierre Gasly)2014 – Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 Champion, Formula Renault 2.0 Alps Champion2015 – Third in Formula Renault 3.5 (Champion – Oliver Rowland)2016 – sixth in GP3 (champion – Charles Leclerc)2017 – seventh in F2 (champion – Charles Leclerc)2018 – fourth in F2 (champion – George Russell)2019 – F2 Champion2019-20 – 11th in Formula E (Champion – Antonio Felix da Costa)2020-21 – Formula E Champion2021-22 – ninth in Formula E (champion – Stoffel Vandoorne) Thanks for your response!
