Alex Albon feels that he missed out on his main opportunity to score points in the 2022 F1 season after being forced to sit out the Italian Grand Prix due to health issues. The British-Thai driver was treated for appendicitis at a local hospital on the Friday of the Monza event, with Nyck de Vries stepping in to the Williams on his behalf for the rest of the weekend. It was later revealed that, after undergoing surgery on the Saturday morning, Albon had been placed in intensive care overnight following complications which led to respiratory failure. He recovered in the days that followed and was able to return to the UK during the week, as well as being back in action at the next Grand Prix on the calendar in Singapore. While Albon is satisfied with much of his debut campaign with Williams, he still feels some regret over not being able to participate at Monza.
Albon reflects on missed opportunity
When asked if he felt that he had maximised most opportunities in 2022, Albon told media, including RacingNews365.com : "I felt like the biggest one was [if I had been] healthy for Monza. "That would have been my main points opportunity. Other than that, I'm not sure. "I really do feel like, in the moments where we've had the chance to score points, we have. "Unfortunately, that's where we are this year; it's been a year where we've had [to have] everything go perfectly for us, a bit of fortune as well, and that gets us into the points. "We don't want that to happen next year."
Albon outlines hopes for Williams in 2023
Albon will enter into his second season with Williams in 2023, where he will be joined by a new teammate in the form of rookie Logan Sargeant. The former Red Bull driver hopes that the team can improve on any issues going forwards in order to keep on maximising opportunities to score points. "We need to work hard," Albon explained. "We need to really nail the balance issues that we've been having this year and, if we can get on top of that, I feel like as a team we always seem to be maximising opportunities, and that's good. "I feel like that kind of shows that we're operating in the correct way. If we get a better car, we're going to be able to be fighting for more." Albon acknowledges that he will also use the winter break to get back to full fitness after his health issues at Monza. "I would say [it will take the] winter to get to 100 per cent," he added. "We didn't have the time to train to really get back that fitness. But, realistically speaking, Singapore was tough, Japan was 75 per cent and then, after Japan, I felt pretty good."
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