Alex Albon admits that he and the team are "realistic" in their expectations ahead of his return to the F1 grid in Singapore. Following his operation for appendicitis prior to the Italian GP, it was later revealed that 'complications' after the surgery led to 'respiratory failure' , extending his stay in hospital. Having missed the Italian GP and been replaced by Nyck de Vries, Albon will, remarkably, return to Formula 1 driving in the Williams FW44 in Singapore. The London-born Thai recently went karting and says he feels he is 'as fit as I can be' to take part in the Singapore GP, but is cautious about expecting too much due to the event being one of the toughest races on the calendar. "I feel ready, I feel as fit as I can be" Albon told media, including RacingNews365 . "We had a good week of training to get back to where we are today. "Obviously, we were realistic, and we know that we're coming to the most difficult race of the year. So we do have to be mindful of that." Albon went into detail on what it was like to watch the Italian race from the sidelines after setting competitive times in practice on the Friday, before having to pull out of the weekend on Saturday. "It was frustrating to watch," he explained. "The heart rate went up a little bit [while] they were keeping an eye on me. They told me I had to switch it off [the race] at some point!" "It's only because we had such a good car on Friday, when I woke up on Saturday and that was kind of that decision [being made] it was always 'should you risk it or not' in terms of driving, but we did the right thing."
Praise for stand-in De Vries
Albon's replacement De Vries put in a solid performance that has earned him some attention from other teams after being slotted in on short notice. He praised the job by the Dutchman, as the team knew they could finish in the points at Monza. "Nyck did a really good job," said Albon. "I think we knew Monza was going to be a good one, but he he brought home some points which in the bigger scheme of things is very good for the team."
Albon on Singapore competitiveness: "We'll give it a go"
Given Williams' recent form at low-downforce venues Monza and Spa Francorchamps, it is anticipated that Williams is more likely to struggle in Singapore, a much higher-downforce track. However, Albon is bullish about the team's prospects heading into Singapore. "I think we've surprised ourselves a little bit this year with some circuits," added Albon. "This circuit is a little bit more down towards you know, let's say downforce, and there's a few [more] corners here. "So not quite like Monza, but we'll give it a go."
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