Formula 1: Nicholas Latifi to return to Williams in 2021
By Asher Fair
After just two races in his rookie Formula 1 season, Nicholas Latifi has confirmed that he is set to return to Williams for a second year in 2021.
Rookie Nicholas Latifi, like second-year teammate George Russell, has confirmed that he is set to remain at Williams for the 2021 Formula 1 season, according to Formula 1.
This announcement comes just two races into his coronavirus pandemic-delayed rookie season, with both races having been contested at the Red Bull Ring.
“I have a multi-year deal with the team, so yes I will be with the team in 2021,” said the 25-year-old Canadian who replaced Robert Kubica after the 2019 season.
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Latifi nearly scored a point for Williams in his debut in the Austrian Grand Prix, which would have been quite impressive given the fact that the Grove-based team scored just one point on one Kubica 10th place finish all of last season.
Notably, Kubica’s point-scoring finish only happened because nine other non-Williams drivers finished the race without being penalized. Russell finished that race in 11th place.
Latifi finished in 11th place in the season opener and backed that up with a 17th place effort in the Styrian Grand Prix, one position behind Russell after Russell was forced to retire from the Austrian Grand Prix with a fuel pressure issue. Of course, it is worth noting that only 10 non-Williams drivers finished the Austrian Grand Prix.
Latifi has not yet outqualified Russell this season, posting efforts of 20th and 18th place compared to Russell’s 17th and 12th place runs, but this should not come as much of a surprise, given the fact that the 22-year-old Briton went 21-0 in his qualifying battles against Kubica as a rookie last year.
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Latifi will look to end Russell’s qualifying perfection in the qualifying session for this Sunday’s Hungarian Grand Prix. This session is set to be broadcast live from the Hungaroring on ESPN beginning at 8:55 a.m. ET on Saturday, July 18. The race itself is set to be broadcast live on ESPN beginning at 9:05 a.m. ET the next morning.