The Canadian driver has been outperformed by new teammate Alex Albon so far this season, with the Anglo-Thai driver 11-2 up on their qualifying head-to-head and 10-3 in front on their race head-to-head while he has also scored all of the team’s points.
Latifi appeared to struggle to adapt to the new F1 cars and rules this year, but since a chassis change at the Silverstone round plus receiving updates at the most recent races he’s made improvements – highlighted by making Q3 of qualifying at the British GP.
As a result, the 27-year-old wants Williams to assess him from the last four rounds before the summer break as it weighs up its 2023 driver line-up options, having already secured Albon on a multi-year deal.
“Now that I do feel much more comfortable in the position I’m in with showing up the weekends knowing that, okay, if I drive the way I know I can drive and get as much as I can out of the car, then the performance is where it needs to be, which I think is deserving of staying in F1,” Latifi told Motorsport.com.
“Whereas obviously at the beginning of the year that wasn’t the case. I’ve made my position clear that you can’t deny the past races, what’s the change in performance, and I’ve put more pressure on myself now, because performance is there now [for the team to assess] me from now onwards.
Nicholas Latifi, Williams FW44
Photo by: Williams
“So I’m putting more pressure on myself, but the pressure is always going to be there. And so I know I can and I feel I can deliver, and for me, I showed that to myself the past few races. So yeah, pressure’s on me now. But that’s F1, right?”
Latifi felt he had made “no progress” with Williams before the car changes ahead of the British GP and didn’t feel comfortable in the FW44, leading to him being “extremely demoralised” after his home race in Montreal.
“Leaving Montreal, I felt there was no progress from either, basically on anything,” he said.
“Understanding as to why the pace was always so slow, I left Montreal, just as puzzled and confused, frustrated. Australia probably was a tricky one, because let’s say the struggles weren’t as outwardly evident until two crashes I had in Saudi. There was no clear improvement at all, or no clear path to improvement.
“We changed the chassis for Silverstone just to rule that out. Since then, the performance has been there.
“And again, I’m not, let’s say 100% saying the chassis was something wrong with it, I’m 99.9% convinced that there was something that wasn’t quite right, whether it was a combination of the parts I was using, the fitment of the parts, which we can see because sometimes we know that sometimes causes some issues, or maybe it is something with the chassis. It’s difficult to know.
“But the facts are I’ve changed nothing since Silverstone, for myself, I left Montreal, just like extremely demoralised, and just not being able to feel the car. And then Silverstone onwards, it’s been much better.
“Even when the pace still hasn’t been competitive, I’ve still discounted that, at least I can feel what the car is doing now. I am comfortable driving the car on the limit. And that’s been the main difference.
“Austria I think with the upgrades out, right where I needed to be qualifying and the race. And at Paul Ricard I thought it was something similar.”
Nicholas Latifi, Williams Racing
Photo by: Carl Bingham / Motorsport Images
While Oscar Piastri had been linked to Latifi’s Williams race seat for 2023, but now appears to be on his way to McLaren to replace Daniel Ricciardo, the Grove-based squad is continuing to assess its options alongside Albon for next year.
Latifi says he isn’t focused on the F1 driver market and wants to prove himself to the team with his performances on the track.
“All you can do is focus on you. It definitely does not help thinking about all the possible negative outcomes,” he added.
“In this sport, there’s always so many things up in the air, a lot of it not even in your control, because they could also be dependent on another driver’s performance.
“All I could do is just focus on my performance now and show to the team what I could do, that I want to stay here.
“Any driver would be lying if they said it doesn’t help to have security and assurance that your position is settled. But that’s always going to come up every few years in Formula 1, even for the top drivers.”
Norris rues possible loss of Spa: ‘It’s just about money nowadays’
Ferrari: Question marks remain over F1 cost cap policing
Mercedes using financial engineers to analyse value of every F1 car part
Alfa Romeo: Reliability issues have “cost us a fortune” in F1 points
Gregoire Saucy: How an outsider demolished a rank of F1 juniors
What next for Kimi Raikkonen after his NASCAR Cup debut?
After his departure from Formula 1 last year, Kimi Raikkonen made his debut in NASCAR’s Cup Series race at Watkins Glen on Sunday. The Finn’s day ended in the tyre wall, and he was tight-lipped on his future afterwards, although didn’t rule out making further appearances. But will further cameos come to pass?
Audi’s F1 plans take shape as announcement looms
The entry by Volkswagen brands Audi and Porsche into Formula 1 has been one of motorsport’s worst kept secrets, with both car companies yet to officially announce their plans.
Gasly: Too early to think about F1 future options
AlphaTauri Formula 1 driver Pierre Gasly says it is still too early to think about his future as he’s set to take control of his own destiny after 2023.
How energy price move helped boost Alpine’s F1 development push
Alpine has revealed that a “smart” inflation-beating move earlier this year helped give it the financial headway needed to be aggressive with its Formula 1 developments and hire more staff.
How Senna’s first F1 winner gave Lotus life after Chapman
Designed by Gerard Ducarouge, the 97T returned Lotus to the winners circle for the first time since the death of its founder but also, as STUART CODLING reveals, gave the team a problem holding onto its new star
Grading F1’s 2022 drivers at half-term
Over the first 13 races of Formula 1’s new ground effects era, Max Verstappen has surged into the lead in the world championship over Charles Leclerc. But as the 2022 season prepares to roar back into life, who stacks up as the top of the class, and who must do better? We graded every driver based on their performances so far
The 10 stories to watch out for across the rest of the 2022 F1 season
It’s 13 down, nine to go as the Formula 1 teams pause for breath in the summer break. But what can we expect to happen over the next three months from Belgium to Abu Dhabi? Here’s the key storylines to keep an eye out for the rest of the 2022 season
Nicholas Latifi: The under-fire F1 driver fighting for his future
Personable, articulate and devoid of the usual racing driver airs and graces, Nicholas Latifi is the last Formula 1 driver you’d expect to receive death threats, but such was the toxic legacy of his part in last year’s explosive season finale. And now, as ALEX KALINAUCKAS explains, he faces a battle to keep his place on the F1 grid…
The strange tyre travails faced by F1’s past heroes
Modern grand prix drivers like to think the tyres they work with are unusually difficult and temperamental. But, says MAURICE HAMILTON, their predecessors faced many of the same challenges – and some even stranger…
The returning fan car revolution that could suit F1
Gordon Murray’s Brabham BT46B ‘fan car’ was Formula 1 engineering at perhaps its most outlandish. Now fan technology has been successfully utilised on the McMurtry Speirling at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, could it be adopted by grand prix racing once again?
Hamilton’s first experience of turning silver into gold
The seven-time F1 champion has been lumbered with a duff car before the 2022 Mercedes. Back in 2009, McLaren’s alchemists transformed the disastrous MP4-24. And now it’s happening again at his current team
Why few would blame Leclerc if he leaves Ferrari in future
OPINION: Ferrari’s numerous strategy blunders, as well as some of his own mistakes, have cost Charles Leclerc dearly in the 2022 Formula 1 title battle in the first half of the season. Though he is locked into a deal with Ferrari, few could blame Leclerc if he ultimately wanted to look elsewhere – just as Lewis Hamilton did with McLaren 10 years prior.
