Albon return from respiratory failure "audacious" - Russell

George Russell has labelled Alex Albon's return to racing at the Singapore Grand Prix this weekend as "audacious".

Williams driver Albon spent the Italian Grand Prix weekend in hospital after being diagnosed with appendicitis, leading to surgery during which complications arose as he suffered respiratory failure.

Although his life was at risk, Albon recovered and immediately set a goal of returning to action at the Marina Bay Street Circuit despite the venue being the most physically demanding on the F1 calendar.

Albon emerged from Friday's practice sessions insisting he would continue for the remainder of the weekend, albeit naturally airing a degree of caution.

Russell, close friends with Albon after rising through the junior ranks alongside the Thai-British driver, said: "I was in contact with Alex's family on the Saturday night [of the Italian GP weekend].

"It was looking pretty scary at one point but it was pretty impressive to see how he recovered so quickly following the events that happened.

"The human body is a scary thing. It just goes to show that one minute, everything is fine and the next minute, it changes almost totally out of control.

"It is audacious to come back to the toughest race of the season having just recovered but it shows the determination he has to possibly get something out of the weekend."

Russell impressed with Albon "fresh start"

When Russell moved to Mercedes following three seasons of learning the F1 ropes at Williams, Albon was chosen as his replacement.

Albon has reignited his career following his demotion at Red Bull following the 2020 season, turning in performances which have impressed Russell.

"I am really pleased for him," said Russell, assessing Albon's resurgence.

"It goes to show how important the environment is around you. Growing up there were five or six drivers always at the top and Alex was one of them.

"It was a surprise and a shame what was happening at Red Bull and when you are on a downward spiral it is so hard to recover.

"A fresh start for him at Williams and it has been great, he has shown a lot of what he is capable of."

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