Driver Williams Albon fell ill on Saturday’s Italian Grand Prix, requiring immediate surgery for appendicitis before complications led to respiratory failure. He was finally released a few days later and resumed racing at the Singapore Grand Prix.
Albon said in Singapore he was “fit as I can” and pain free to come back, albeit in one of the most physically challenging races on the calendar, which was followed by another tough race at Suzuka. a week later.
Asked by Autosport after the end of the season in Abu Dhabi if he had returned to 100 per cent fitness from Monza, Albon said: “I would say [I need the] winter to reach 100%.
“We haven’t had time to train to really get that physical condition back, so yeah.
“But realistically Singapore was tough, Japan was 75%, and after Japan I felt pretty good.”
Albon has returned to F1 full-time this year with Williams after spending 2021 in a reserve role at Red Bull, and has led the British team’s efforts throughout the year.
Alex Albon, Williams FW44, Daniel Ricciardo, McLaren MCL36, Kevin Magnussen, Haas VF-22
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images
The British-Thai driver scored three of his five top 10s, including ninth in Miami and 10th in Australia with a bold strategy, making up for his lack of performance against more advanced teams.
But Albon felt being fit for Monza was the biggest opportunity he had missed this year given how well suited the FW44 car was to the high-speed setup. His replacement for the race, Nyck de Vries, finished ninth.
“I feel like the biggest issue was being healthy for Monza, that would have been my main points opportunity,” Albon said.
“Other than that, I’m not sure. I really feel that in the moments when we had the chance to score points, we did.
“Unfortunately, that’s where we are this year. It’s been a year where we have everything to go perfectly for us, a bit of luck too, and that gets us into the points.
“We don’t want that to happen next year. We want to work hard, really address the balance issues we’ve had this year, and if we can overcome that, I feel like as a team we seem to be maximizing our opportunities. Its good.
“I feel like it shows that we are operating in the right way. If we get a better car, we will fight for better opportunities more consistently and score more points.
Driver Williams Albon fell ill on Saturday’s Italian Grand Prix, requiring immediate surgery for appendicitis before complications led to respiratory failure. He was finally released a few days later and resumed racing at the Singapore Grand Prix.
Albon said in Singapore he was “fit as I can” and pain free to come back, albeit in one of the most physically challenging races on the calendar, which was followed by another tough race at Suzuka. a week later.
Asked by Autosport after the end of the season in Abu Dhabi if he had returned to 100 per cent fitness from Monza, Albon said: “I would say [I need the] winter to reach 100%.
“We haven’t had time to train to really get that physical condition back, so yeah.
“But realistically Singapore was tough, Japan was 75%, and after Japan I felt pretty good.”
Albon has returned to F1 full-time this year with Williams after spending 2021 in a reserve role at Red Bull, and has led the British team’s efforts throughout the year.
Alex Albon, Williams FW44, Daniel Ricciardo, McLaren MCL36, Kevin Magnussen, Haas VF-22
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images
The British-Thai driver scored three of his five top 10s, including ninth in Miami and 10th in Australia with a bold strategy, making up for his lack of performance against more advanced teams.
But Albon felt being fit for Monza was the biggest opportunity he had missed this year given how well suited the FW44 car was to the high-speed setup. His replacement for the race, Nyck de Vries, finished ninth.
“I feel like the biggest issue was being healthy for Monza, that would have been my main points opportunity,” Albon said.
“Other than that, I’m not sure. I really feel that in the moments when we had the chance to score points, we did.
“Unfortunately, that’s where we are this year. It’s been a year where we have everything to go perfectly for us, a bit of luck too, and that gets us into the points.
“We don’t want that to happen next year. We want to work hard, really address the balance issues we’ve had this year, and if we can overcome that, I feel like as a team we seem to be maximizing our opportunities. Its good.
“I feel like it shows that we are operating in the right way. If we get a better car, we will fight for better opportunities more consistently and score more points.