Alex Albon is suffering from appendicitis and will miss the Italian Grand Prix, Williams have confirmed.
The British-Thai racer took part in both practice sessions on Friday. But he will play no further part in the rest of the weekend's action after starting to feel unwell. In his place, Nyck de Vries is set to make his competitive debut in Formula 1, having taken part in FP1 for Aston Martin on Friday.
"Williams Racing can confirm that, after feeling unwell this morning and seeking medical advice from the FIA and local hospital, Alex Albon is now undergoing treatment for appendicitis," said the team in a statement.
"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 taken part in practice sessions for three different teams this year. One of them was Williams, so the team knows he is at least familiar with their 2022 car.
The Formula 2 and Formula E champion holds a superlicence and is hopeful of a seat on the grid for the first time in 2023. That may well be as Albon's team-mate at Williams, with Nicholas Latifi's future in the sport uncertain.
If Williams are still considering their options for next season, then this race weekend at Monza has now turned into an ideal opportunity for de Vries to audition for the seat. He will take part in FP3 early this afternoon, before qualifying later in the day.
Williams have given no suggestion as to how long Albon may be out of action. But due to the cancellation of the Russian Grand Prix this season, there is now no race until the first weekend of October after this, giving the British-Thai a few weeks to fully recover.
