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Albon admits Singapore return looking ‘tough’
Alex Albon is hoping to return to racing at the Singapore Grand Prix but admits that there's a strong prospect of another weekend on the sidelines.
The Williams driver was taken into hospital on Saturday morning in Italy with appendicitis and underwent surgery that day, but anesthetic complications resulted in his going into respiratory failure and requiring intensive care treatment. Albon was taken off a mechanical ventilator on Sunday and returned home to Monaco two days later, and Williams said the aim is for him to be able to race in Singapore in two weeks’ time.
Posting an update on his social media channels, Albon said he’s recovering steadily but acknowledged how challenging it will be to return at one of the most physical races on the F1 calendar.
“Just thought I’d give a little bit of an update of how I am,” Albon posted. “I feel pretty good. I feel OK. Obviously on Saturday I had a slight issue and the doctors did an amazing job -- I’m very grateful that they got me in good health and out of the hospital by Tuesday.
“I’ve been in Monaco since then -- I’ve been starting to walk around and the goal is to be ready for Singapore, which is going to be tough. It’s one of the toughest races that we go to, so it’s not an easy one, but let’s aim high and see what happens.
“Just a quick message to say thank you for all the kind messages, I’ve been reading them all -- well, as many as I can -- and it means a lot. So thanks, hopefully see you in Singapore.”
Should Albon not be ready to race in Singapore, Nyck de Vries is likely to get a second outing for Williams after his impressive debut in Monza where he scored points, although the team can also call on further reserve options Jack Aitken and Stoffel Vandoorne if required.
Chris Medland
While studying Sports Journalism at the University of Central Lancashire, Chris managed to talk his way into working at the British Grand Prix in 2008 and was retained for three years before joining ESPN F1 as Assistant Editor. After three further years at ESPN, a spell as F1 Editor at Crash Media Group was followed by the major task of launching F1i.com’s English-language website and running it as Editor. Present at every race since the start of 2014, he has continued building his freelance portfolio, working with international titles. As well as writing for RACER, his broadcast work includes television appearances on F1 TV and as a presenter and reporter on North America's live radio coverage on SiriusXM.
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