“I don’t see myself being a reserve driver”: Nicholas Latifi is convinced his return to F1 is almost out of question following Williams exit
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Nicholas Latifi
The current Formula One contract for Nicholas Latifi is going to terminate at the end of this season, and it has already been announced that the Canadian is not going to be retained by Williams for another year. This is not the first time that F1 racers have had to sit out a season because of the lack of a prospective seat at one of the teams. And in most of these situations, the drivers go for a reserve driver role while waiting for a potential regular racing deal to work out. But Nicholas Latifi is convinced that is not going to work out for him.
In the latest Beyond the Grids podcast, Nicholas Latifi was called in for a heart-to-heart conversation about what lies ahead of him in his racing career. The 27-year-old had debuted in F1 after a stint at Formula 2, where he got the runner-up position in the 2019 F2 Championship. But Latifi’s time in F1 has been far from successful with only 9 career points scored till date, across three racing seasons. And naturally, Williams have now decided they want to take up a newer recruit in place of Nicholas Latifi, as they want to travel up the ranks in the upcoming season.
Even though Latifi does not have a seat at Williams for the next year, he could have stayed in the highest league of motorsports by settling for a reserve driver role for one of the teams, such as Haas. But he has confirmed he is not interested in going for reserve positions until they earn him an assured seat at an F1 team in the subsequent years.
Nicholas Latifi says he cannot go for a reserve role as his position is not the same as Alex Albon’s
Now that only two races are left for this current F1 season, it is only a matter of time before Logan Sargeant replaces Nicholas Latifi, and he has to leave the league after three unimpressive years. Now, the Canadian could have stayed for the position of a reserve driver at one of the teams, but he has chosen not to. Speaking about this, Nicholas Latifi said, “Obviously Alex has shown that it [settling for a reserve role while waiting for a regular racing seat] is possible, but he was in a completely different situation at Red Bull than I am now.”
Latifi then confirmed, “I don’t see myself being a reserve driver for an extended period, without potentially winning back a seat in Formula One with it.”
Thus, an F1 future seems bleak for Nicholas Latifi right now since most teams have got racers in contract with them for the next couple of years. If none of the deals work out, Latifi is going to look for “other options”, such as IndyCar and Formula E in the upcoming years.
Read More: “I am optimistic,” Nico Hulkenberg sheds light on progress made regarding 2023 Haas F1 seat
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Riddhi Mondal
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