Williams driver Alex Albon missed the Italian Grand Prix after being sent to hospital the day before the race.
After being diagnosed with appendicitis, the Williams team sent Albon off and brought into reserve driver Nyck de Vries to take his place.
Watch Every Practice, Qualifying & Race of the 2022 FIA Formula One World Championship™ Live on Kayo. New to Kayo? Start your free trial now >
De Vries stole the spotlight as he finished an impressive ninth after earning the call up less than 48 hours prior.
But on Tuesday the attention shifted back to Albon when Williams released a statement detailing his status that he had suffered “complications”.
Albon was taken to intensive care where he spent the night hooked up to a ventilator before being transferred to a general ward.
“Further to Alex Albon’s diagnosis of appendicitis on the morning of Saturday 10 September, he was admitted to San Gerardo hospital for treatment,” the team statement read.
“He underwent a successful laparoscopic surgery on Saturday lunchtime.
“Following surgery, Alex suffered with unexpected post-operative anaesthetic complications which led to respiratory failure, a known but uncommon complication.
“He was re-intubated and transferred to intensive care for support.
“He made excellent progress overnight and was able to be removed from mechanical ventilation yesterday morning.
“He has now been transferred to a general ward and is expected to return home tomorrow. There were no other complications.”
Despite the complications, Albon is expected to be ready in time to line up on the grid for the Singapore Grand Prix.
“Alex’s full focus is on recovery and preparation ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix later this month. “Alex would like to thank the excellent care and support he has received, including from the nursing, anaesthetic and ICU teams at Osperdale San Gerardo – ASST Monza, the FIA medical team, his Performance Coach Patrick Harding, the Williams Racing team and Dr Luke Bennett from HINTSA Performance.”
The return of Albon means de Vries will shift back to his reserve duty roles and miss the Singapore Grand Prix despite his stellar debut showing.
De Vries out-qualified teammate Nicholas Latifi and scored two championship points, pushing Latifi to 21st overall on the standings. Formula 1 has 20 drivers.
Championship leader Max Verstappen started alongside the debutant on the grid and offered him some pre-race advice.
“First of all, enjoy it. Don’t think about it too much, don’t stress about it too much,” he said.
“I remember my first race, it happened so quickly everything and it’s stressful. You shouldn’t think about that and he handled everything really well.”
His debut race efforts drew high praise from all over the paddock with seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton glowing over the drive.
“Oh, incredibly happy for Nyck, and really proud of him,” Hamilton told the media shortly afterwards. “He’s such a good lad, a good human, he’s been a good part of our team working with us,” Hamilton said.
Hamilton’s teammate Russell also praised De Vries’ performance.
“He did an excellent job,” Russell said. “Throughout all of our karting careers he was one of the best. There’s no doubt he is deserving of a place in Formula One.
“There’s 20 drivers, not everybody gets an opportunity, but certainly now he’s proved everything he has to.”
