Latifi: "Puzzling" my Williams F1 car can’t match what Albon is doing – Motorsport.com

Latifi has endured a difficult start to the 2022 season, recording a best finish of 14th in Miami to leave him at the foot of the drivers’ standings with zero points.
Albon has led Williams’ efforts so far this season, scoring points in Australia and Miami, as well as outqualifying Latifi for eight of the nine races.
It has left Latifi facing an uncertain future at Williams, with Alpine youngster Oscar Piastri widely expected to replace him next year.
Latifi finished a lowly 16th at his home race in Canada last weekend and said afterwards there “wasn’t really anything enjoyable” about the race due to his struggles with the FW44 car.
“We’ve been lacking so much pace, right from the off,” Latifi said. “On low fuel, high fuel, when tyres are in a good window and we’re managing tyre degradation, we’re just way too far off.
“We have to use this two-week break to understand why and see if we can find anything. For me, it has to be something quite fundamental.
“There’s no situation or condition on-track, even when people aren’t pushing flat out and I feel that I am that the pace is there to our competitors. So we’ll see. Try and reset going into Silverstone, and go from there.”
Alex Albon, Williams, Nicholas Latifi, Williams
Photo by: Carl Bingham / Motorsport Images
Williams has taken a more conservative approach towards its update plan for the 2022 car, but is set to adopt a visibly-different package in the coming races in a bid to take a step forward.
The team sits last in the constructors’ championship, having only scored the three points courtesy of Albon this year, and has rarely found itself fighting beyond Q1 in recent races.
Albon has fared better than Latifi in recent times, qualifying 12th in Canada and running inside the points early on before ultimately crossing the line 13th.
But Latifi thought his struggles were “far beyond a driving-style issue” in comparison to Albon.
“For sure, at the beginning of the season, there was part of that, and you could maybe still attribute some of the lap time delta to that,” Latifi said.
“For me, looking far beyond that and past any of the confidence limitations that I feel I was having in the beginning, the pace would just not be there.
“There are situations where I just don’t feel that my car is capable of doing what I see he’s doing on the data, which is not a nice feeling to be in.
“It’s a bit puzzling. But again, we’ll use this two-week break to see what we can analyse.”
Liberty: Nice GP not designed to pressure Monaco F1 race
Can F1 turn back from its heavyweight path?
Albon: Not clear how to fix F1 weaknesses on Williams car
Norris: Silverstone will highlight “big differences” in 2022 F1 cars
Connecting two of Ferrari’s favourite F1 sons: Villeneuve and Leclerc
Williams: Lack of confidence in the car behind Latifi F1 struggles
Sainz frustrated at lapped Latifi for costing him Monaco F1 lead
Why unseen Hungary heroics could be Latifi’s making
Szafnauer confident Piastri will race in F1 next year amid Williams links
Williams plans “visibly different” F1 car update to lift form
The driver comeback story to watch in F1 2022
Albon: Not clear how to fix F1 weaknesses on Williams car
Alfa Romeo F1 no longer limited on spares from British Grand Prix
Norris: Silverstone will highlight “big differences” in 2022 F1 cars
Pirelli plans stronger F1 front tyre for 2023 to dial out understeer
Inside AlphaTauri’s Faenza F1 factory
AlphaTauri’s mission in F1 is to sell clothes and train young drivers rather than win the championship – but you still need a cutting-edge factory to do that. Team boss Franz Tost takes GP Racing’s Oleg Karpov on a guided tour of a facility that’s continuing to grow.
Connecting two of Ferrari’s favourite F1 sons: Villeneuve and Leclerc
Gilles Villeneuve’s exploits behind the wheel of a Ferrari made him a legend to the tifosi, even 40 years after his death. The team’s current Formula 1 star Charles Leclerc enjoys a similar status, and recently got behind the wheel of a very special car from the French-Canadian’s career.
How a 30cm metal wire triggered open warfare in the F1 paddock
Porpoising has become the key talking point during the 2022 Formula 1 season, as teams battle to come to terms with it. An FIA technical directive ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix and a second stay appearing on the Mercedes cars only served to create a bigger debate and raise tensions further
Does Max Verstappen have any weaknesses left?
Having extended his Formula 1 points lead with victory in Canada, Max Verstappen has raised his game further following his 2021 title triumph. Even on the days where Red Bull appears to be second best to Ferrari, Verstappen is getting the most out of the car in each race. So, does he have any weaknesses that his title rivals can exploit?
How F1’s future fuels can shape the automotive sector
In 2026, Formula 1 plans to make the switch to a fully sustainable fuel, as the greater automotive world considers its own alternative propulsion methods. Biogasoline and e-fuels both have merit as ‘drop-in’ fuels but, equally, both have their shortcomings…
The breakthrough behind Sainz’s best weekend of F1 2022 so far
OPINION: Carlos Sainz came close to winning in Monaco but needed that race’s specific circumstances for his shot at a maiden Formula 1 victory to appear. Last weekend in Canada, he led the line for Ferrari in Charles Leclerc’s absence from the front. And there’s a key reason why Sainz has turned his 2022 form around
Why “faster” Ferrari couldn’t beat Red Bull in Canadian GP
On paper the Canadian Grand Prix will go down as Max Verstappen’s latest triumph, fending off late pressure from Carlos Sainz to extend his Formula 1 world championship lead. But as safety car periods, virtual and real, shook up the race Ferrari demonstrated it can take the fight to Red Bull after recent failures.
Canadian Grand Prix Driver Ratings 2022
Plenty of high scores but just a single perfect 10 from the first Montreal race in three years, as Max Verstappen fended off late pressure from Carlos Sainz. Here’s Autosport’s assessment on the Formula 1 drivers from the Canadian Grand Prix

source