Could a sudden appendectomy spark a new driver movement in F1?
According to one prominent expert, that scenario is definitely on the table.
Let’s start with an example before starting at Monza during the 2022 F1 season. Ahead of that year’s Italian Grand Prix, Alexander Albon was forced to withdraw from the race ahead of his third practice session due to appendicitis. (Albon will undergo surgery and will endure for some time afterwards) Postoperative complications including respiratory failure).
This left a spot open for Williams that weekend. The team turned its attention to Nick de Vries, who had already taken part in practice sessions ahead of the Italian Grand Prix and was driving Sebastian Vettel’s Aston Martin seat. De Vries qualified 13th and finished 9th in the Italian Grand Prix, scoring points on his F1 debut.
At that point, it was only Williams’ third points-winning race of the season.
His impressive debut led many teams to compete for him for the upcoming 2023 season. AlphaTauri ultimately signed De Vries along with Hiroki Tsunoda ahead of last season. However, you probably know how that story ends. He struggled in his rookie season and was replaced by Daniel Ricciardo midway through the year. Ricciardo was injured in training and was replaced by Liam Lawson, but it was Lawson’s turn to make a positive impression.
Ricciardo now faces losing his current position with Visa Cash App RB F1 Team (formerly AlphaTauri) to Lawson.
This was the story of the outlandish appendectomy that inspired the grid.
Could Mercedes choose Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who is still only 18, to drive alongside George Russell next season?
Will Buxton believes so.
of F1TV The analyst appeared on a recent episode red flag podcast And Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff, hoping to avoid repeating his mistakes, will welcome Antonelli into the squad next season, with the prodigy set to slip into the seat vacated by Lewis Hamilton soon. insisted.
What is the starting point? Wolff does not want to repeat the mistake of failing to sign another young genius at Mercedes all those years ago. You may also know the driver, as he has had considerable success in F1.
Max Verstappen.
“Antonelli is going to Mercedes. I think Toto has made up his mind. He wants Antonelli to take the seat,” Buxton declared. red flag podcast. “Because he’s angry. He’s angry that he missed the opportunity to give Max a chance in 2014. That’s why he put Antonelli in that seat.”
That’s all well and good, but how does an appendectomy fit into this situation?
Let’s go back to this season’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
Before that race, Carlos Sainz Jr. fell ill and required an emergency appendectomy. Ferrari was forced to call up a young and talented reserve driver, Olly Bearman. The 18-year-old Ferrari reserve and Antonelli’s F2 teammate only had one practice session before qualifying, but made it into Q1 and started the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in 11th place.
He held off Lando Norris and Hamilton in the closing stages to finish seventh.The six points he scored that day on his brilliant F1 debut still stick with him to this day. 12th in Drivers Championship Ranking.
According to Buxton, that debut race was just what Wolff needed to believe Antonelli was the right choice at Mercedes from 2025 onwards.
“The litmus test was Bearman,” Buxton claimed. red flag podcast. “Bearman did the job. ‘Okay, now you can bring your kid straight into the company from F2.’ [2025] This is the amortization of [Mercedes] Anyway, until the new regulations in ’26, bring him in without any pressure, let him get to know the team and work with George [Russell]understand what Mercedes is all about.
“Ban! Good luck and aim for the title in 2026 with a new car and new regulations.”
If true, this would be the second bizarre scenario caused by a sudden appendectomy in recent years.
What a sport!
