Albon ruled out with appendicitis, De Vries makes his F1 debut at Monza
Williams driverAlex Albon is forced to miss this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix after being diagnosed with appendicitis, with former Formula 2 and Formula E champion Nyck De Vries set to make his F1 debut at Monza.
The London-born Thai driver completed a successful opening day at the Italian Grand Prix, finishing 11th in FP1 and 10th in FP2. The former Red Bull driver was in good mood yesterday, hinting that he would hope for a similarly competitive form from Williams as the team showed at the high-speed track of Monza two weeks ago.
However, Albon will miss the 73rd Italian Grand Prix after he felt unwell this morning and was diagnosed with appendicitis, meaning that he can not take part in the remainder of the Monza race weekend.
On Saturday morning, Williams issued a statement confirming that "after feeling unwell this morning and seeking medical advice from the FIA and local hospital, Alex Albon is now undergoing treatment for appendicitis.
"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."
De Vries has gained valuable experiences with F1 car this year. The Dutchman is the team's official reserve driver and made his FP1 debut with the Grove outfit earlier this season at Barcelona, replacing Albon at the time.
He then also appeared in an official session at Paul Ricard where he took over the car of Lewis Hamilton in the opening practice before making his third FP1 appearance with Aston Martin yesterday at Monza, standing in for Sebastian Vettel.
