Williams Racing revealed today that Alex Albon’s appendix surgery was not as smooth as hoped with the driver suffering anaesthetic complications afterwards.
After driving in the two practice sessions on Friday, Albon felt unwell on Saturday morning and was diagnosed with appendicitis. That led to the Thai racer withdrawing from the remainder of the weekend which opened the door for Mercedes reserve driver Nyck de Vries, who had just driven FP1 for Aston Martin, with a perfect opportunity to show what he was capable of as he vies for a full-time seat next season – something he succeeded in with a strong qualifying and P9 race finish.
De Vries to race as Albon ruled out with appendicitis
Albon himself was brought to San Gerardo hospital and underwent surgery that day, while the operation itself went as planned Albon suffered anaesthetic complications following it which saw him go into respiratory failure and be brought to intensive care.
Williams say that Albon was off the ventilator on Sunday morning and is expected to be well enough to travel back to the UK on Tuesday where he will focus on making a full recovery before the next race, in Singapore, from the 30th of September.
The full statement released today read:
“Further to Alex Albon’s diagnosis of appendicitis on the morning of Saturday 10 September, he was admitted to San Gerardo hospital for treatment. 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.
“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.”
