Nicholas latifi

Former F1 driver Robert Doornbos has urged Jost Capito to be “man enough” to say Monza was it for Nicholas Latifi and drop him in favour of putting Nyck de Vries in the car next season. Although the Italian Grand Prix marked De Vries’ Formula 1 debut, he did something Latifi has failed to do all season, he scored points. The Dutch driver raced his way to ninth place , scoring two points as he filled in for Alex Albon after the driver came down with appendicitis, while Latifi, despite lining up two places behind his new team-mate on the grid, fell all the way to P15. Pundits believe this should be the end of the line for the Canadian driver. The former F1 driver believes he should “immediately” tell Latifi this season is his last and put the Mercedes-backed De Vries in the car in 2023. “I think you have to look at Mercedes-powered teams and there aren’t many places left,” Motorsport.com quoted the Ziggo F1 analyst as having said: “Aston Martin, McLaren and Mercedes are … [Read more...] about ‘Jost Capito must be man enough to say this is it for Nicholas Latifi’

Nicholas Latifi is not happy with the Italian Grand Prix stewards, accusing them of sleeping on corner-cutting at the first chicane on lap one. Latifi explained space on the Monza track was at a premium heading into the Rettifilo chicane at the race start, unhappy to see the actions of Haas’ Kevin Magnussen as well as how the stewards had responded to that. Both Williams cars started the Italian Grand Prix from inside the top 10, aided by a host of grid penalties, with Latifi launching from P10 and his team-mate for the weekend, Nyck de Vries, P8 on the grid. Latifi could not maintain that position, ultimately crossing the line P15 ahead of only Magnussen, who had sustained damage to his car as a result of contact with Valtteri Bottas at the start, that nudge from behind sending him through the escape area as he emerged ahead of Latifi. Magnussen was given a five-second penalty after it was decided he had not returned the place fairly to Latifi, although the Canadian … [Read more...] about Nicholas Latifi accuses stewards of being ‘asleep’ on Monza corner-cutting

Jost Capito seems determined not to throw Nicholas Latifi under the bus, saying the Canadian was under “quite more” pressure than Nyck de Vries at the Italian Grand Prix. De Vries made his Formula 1 debut at Monza, racing his way to ninth place, while Latifi’s point-less run continued with a P15. It had pundits saying the time has come for Williams to say goodbye to Latifi with former F1 driver Robert Doornbos calling on Capito to be “man enough” to drop him . Capito, however, is determined to keep his driver’s confidence up. “I think that’s a normal race driver’s pressure isn’t it?” he told Sky Sports’ Martin Brundle at Monza. “You always have to be better than your team-mates. “And I think the pressure for Nikki is quite more than for Nyck. Because he is in the car for all year and then Nyck sets the bar knowing he just jumped in so the pressure is less on him.” Following the Monza race there were a lot of calls for De Vries to be given a 2023 Formula 1 race seat, … [Read more...] about Jost Capito continues to defend Nicholas Latifi after Monza loss to a debutant

Nicholas Latifi will part ways with Williams at the end of this season, the team has confirmed. Although Latifi stepped onto the Formula 1 grid on the back of his runner-up result in the Formula 2 championship, his time with Williams has been anything but a success. All too often running at the very back of the field, the Canadian has scored just seven points in 55 starts with pundits almost constantly questioning his future. The final straw was the Italian Grand Prix when Latifi, still point-less this season, was beaten by debutant Nyck de Vries , the latter crossing the line in ninth place. But while Williams initially stuck by their driver, team boss Jost Capito even going as far as to say last year’s Abu Dhabi crash was a blow to his driver’s confidence , the call has now been made. Latifi has thanked Williams for his three seasons with the team. “I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone at Williams Racing – all the people back at the factory and … [Read more...] about The speculation is over, Williams confirm Nicholas Latifi’s exit

Nicholas Latifi’s Formula 1 career appears to be over as Williams has confirmed they will not retain the driver for the 2023 F1 season . Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free The 27-year-old made his F1 debut with the team in 2020, alongside George Russell . Neither driver scored in a difficult year for the team, but Latifi helped end their point-less drought the following year in Hungary, leading his team mate home as they took seventh and eighth places. That proved the highlight of an otherwise largely unsuccessful introduction to F1 for Latifi. He managed only one other points score, in the shortened, one-lap Belgian Grand Prix. Latifi attained notoriety after he crashed out of last year’s season finale in Abu Dhabi, triggering a Safety Car period which led to the contentious conclusion to the championship. He later revealed he suffered abuse on social media, including death threats, in the weeks which followed. After 16 of 22 races this year, Latifi … [Read more...] about F1: Williams confirm Latifi will not drive for team again in 2023 · RaceFans

Listen to this article Latifi made his F1 debut with Williams at the start of the 2020 season on a three-year contract, but struggled to match teammates George Russell and Alex Albon for form during his time at the team. The Canadian's departure has been widely expected for a number of months, but Williams confirmed the news on Friday, revealing his contract will not be extended. Williams said it will announce Latifi's replacement as Albon's teammate "in due course." "I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone at Williams Racing - all the people back at the factory and those I work with trackside - for the last three years," said Latifi in a statement. "My initial F1 debut was postponed due to the pandemic but we eventually got going in Austria and, although we have not achieved the results together we hoped we would, it's still been a fantastic journey. "Getting those first points in Hungary last year was a moment I'll never forget, and I will move … [Read more...] about Latifi to leave Williams at end of 2022 F1 season

Listen to this article The Dutchman, a late call-up into the Williams team after Alex Albon was sidelined with appendicitis, spent almost the entirety of the race defending from Zhou as he sought to preserve a points-scoring debut run and was classified ninth at the flag. Zhou was within a second of de Vries for the majority of the race, but was unable to mount an assault on the Williams stand-in as the two were caught in a DRS train behind Pierre Gasly . The time of the incident cited by the stewards was registered at 16:15 local time, under the safety car period at the end of the race. This was due to a moment where de Vries stopped suddenly behind Gasly behind the safety car, having reduced his speed to remain above the 'delta time' - the minimum time all drivers must run to or above in such conditions. Having heard the evidence from de Vries and Williams, the stewards levied him with a reprimand and nothing more - having accepted that the driver was not … [Read more...] about De Vries reprimanded for “erratic driving” incident at Italian GP

Kevin Magnussen said the damage his car sustained at the first chicane of the Italian Grand Prix was “too much” for him to achieve a positive result. The Dane’s team boss Guenther Steiner believes his two Haas drivers were “done over” during the race at Monza. Steiner was critical about the race officiating after Magnussen was given a five-second time penalty, as well as a penalty point on his superlicence , for a first-lap incident. Heading into Turn 1, Magnussen was bumped from behind by Valtteri Bottas as part of a chain reaction and took to the escape area, coming out ahead of Nicholas Latifi’s Williams. While Latifi got back past Magnussen, the officials felt Magnussen had not ceded the place and forced Latifi to race him. That triggered the penalty for Magnussen, who explained afterwards he had picked up damage during the fracas at the chicane. “ I had contact at the beginning of the race in Turn 1 – I got hit from behind and the diffuser got damaged,” he said, … [Read more...] about Kevin Magnussen rues first-corner damage that made him ‘slow’ at Monza

Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free In the round-up: Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali says the idea of having reverse grid sprint races is under consideration again. In brief Domenicali floats reverse grid proposal again his desire to see more competitive sessions and less practice during race weekends in future. Speaking to Corriere della Serra the F1 CEO suggested “each session should be giving away either points, or single qualifying laps, or a qualification for a different and shorter Saturday race, instead of the third free practice, perhaps with the mechanism of the inverted grid.” The disrupted grids caused by multiple penalties at races such as this year’s Belgian Grand Prix show “the beauty of having reshuffles in the race, more overtaking,” said Domenicali. “We have an obligation to try.” F1 repeatedly tried to introduce reverse grid races without success before Domenicali replaced Chase Carey as CEO at the beginning of last year. The … [Read more...] about RaceFans Round-up: Reverse grid sprint races under consideration again – Domenicali