One very important face was missing from the Mexican Grand Prix Paddock, and that was the face of Claire Williams, team principal at the Williams F1 team.
Her father, the legendary owner of Williams F1, Sir Frank Williams, is said to be suffering a bout of pneumonia and is currently in hospital and Claire opted to be by his bedside instead.
74 year old Sir Frank has missed the last few rounds of the season due to illness but up until now had been slowly recovering at home.
the entire team is hoping that they will see the much determined Sir Frank back in action again soon as his presence is very sorely missedโฆ.
"He has been a fixture in the paddock for so many years it's strange not to have him with us," Chief executive Mike O'Driscoll said in Friday afternoon's press conference. "He's had a tough time in hospital, he's making a recovery, a slow, steady recovery. We hope to see him back in Grove very soon, we all know how determined he is."
As for Claire Williams, the plan is to have her back in the garage by the season ending race in Abu Dhabiโฆ.
"We expect Claire to be back. She's wanted to be close to home, close to Frank, but in this world you're only a phone call away, so we've stayed connected and she's part of everything that happens on a minute-by-minute, day-by-day basis. We hope to see her by the end of the year, hopefully at Abu Dhabi."
