Yahoo Autos Williams F1 Has Options after Declaring Nicholas Latifi Is Out after 2022
The Williams F1 team announced on Friday that it would not be retaining the services of driver Nicholas Latifi in 2022.
Latifi is the only full-time driver on the Formula 1 grid without a point this season.
There is no shortage of candidates for the newly opened seat on the F1 grid.
The Williams F1 team and Nicholas Latifi will split at the end of the current Formula 1 campaign, ending a four-year partnership, and opening a vacancy at the team for 2023.
Latifi joined Williams as its reserve driver in 2019, in a year in which he finished second in Formula 2, and stepped up to a race seat for 2020, with his position facilitated by extensive personal sponsorship. He struggled through a 2020 campaign that was delayed and influenced by the pandemic, while Williams itself was going through a period of overhaul amid financial turmoil followed by a change of ownership.
Latifi scored points twice in 2021, peaking with seventh in Hungary, and crept closer to teammate George Russell, though became famous worldwide for his unintentional role in the controversial Abu Dhabi season finale.
The Canadian’s crash in the closing stages triggered the Safety Car period from which the furore erupted, and Latifi was the victim of a swathe of vitriolic messages on social media, which led to him fearing for his and his family’s safety.
Latifi remained with Williams for 2022 but struggled for pace, was comprehensively out-performed by new teammate Alex Albon, who is signed with Williams at least through 2024 after agreeing to a contract extension earlier this summer.
Latifi is the only full-time driver on the Formula 1 grid without a point this season.
There were occasional beacons of light—such as unexpectedly topping a rain-hit practice session in Hungary—but these were few and far between, with his retention for 2023 deemed unlikely for several months.
On Friday the parties formally announced their separation following November’s season-ending Abu Dhabi round.
Latifi conceded that “although we have not achieved the results together we hoped we would, it’s still been a fantastic journey.”
He added that “getting those first points in Hungary last year was a moment I’ll never forget, and I will move onto the next chapter of my career with special memories of my time with this dedicated team.”
Williams Team Principal Jost Capito paid tribute to “a great team player who has a great attitude towards his colleagues and work and is well liked and respected throughout the business.”
Options for Williams
Attention will inevitably turn towards prospective replacements.
Williams had previously planned to run Alpine junior Oscar Piastri in 2023 but the youngster instead signed a multi-year deal to race for McLaren.
Nyck de Vries performed well during his debut stand-in role in Italy and remains on standby for Albon in the event that the regular racer is not fit enough to compete in Singapore and Japan.
However de Vries is also on the list of candidates for AlphaTauri; the squad has Pierre Gasly under contract for 2023, and on Thursday retained Yuki Tsunoda, but the experienced Frenchman is of interest to Alpine. If AlphaTauri can identify a suitable replacement for Gasly then it will allow him to link up with Alpine.
Other potential candidates could include Mick Schumacher, if he is not retained by Haas, while Antonio Giovinazzi is another driver with a Super Licence.
Confirmation of Latifi’s exit ostensibly boosts the prospects of an American being represented on the 2023 grid.
Williams has Logan Sargeant on its books as a young driver and he will participate in the opening practice session at next month’s U.S. Grand Prix in Austin, Texas. He currently holds third place in the Formula 2 championship and would need to finish no worse than fifth to earn enough Super License points in what is a closely contested championship among seven driver still with realistic shots at a championship.
