driver

Nicholas Latifi

21

0 PTS

Williams
nationality
Canada
place
Montreal
date
29-06-1995
debut
2020

Nicholas Latifi

 

Nicholas Latifi will start his third year in Formula 1 in 2022. In 2020, Latifi was beaten comfortably by teammate George Russell, but Latifi managed to close the gap in 2021. In his third year with Williams, the Canadian will want to prove once and for all that he is not driving the premier class of motorsport just because of his rich father.

F1 Standings

2022
  • 2022
  • 2021
Pos.NameTeamPoints
1VERMax VerstappenRed Bull Racing335
2LECCharles LeclercFerrari219
3PERSergio PerezRed Bull Racing210
4RUSGeorge RussellMercedes AMG F1 team203
5SAICarlos SainzFerrari187
6HAMLewis HamiltonMercedes AMG F1 team168
7NORLando NorrisMcLaren88
8OCOEsteban OconAlpine F1 team66
9ALOFernando AlonsoAlpine F1 team59
10BOTValtteri BottasAlfa Romeo F1 team46
11GASPierre GaslyScuderia AlphaTauri22
12MAGKevin MagnussenHaas F122
13VETSebastian VettelAston Martin F1 team20
14RICDaniel RicciardoMcLaren19
15SCHMick SchumacherHaas F112
16TSUYuki TsunodaScuderia AlphaTauri11
17ZHOGuanyu ZhouAlfa Romeo F1 team6
18STRLance StrollAston Martin F1 team5
19ALBAlex AlbonWilliams4
20DEVNyck de VriesWilliams2
21LATNicholas LatifiWilliams0
22HULNico HulkenbergAston Martin F1 team0

Another Canadian father in Formula 1

In addition to Lance and Lawrence Stroll, Formula 1 has a second Canadian driver in 2022 who has a father with a lot of money. Michael Latifi is a Canadian businessman who made his money with his own company Sofina Foods and investments in Lilydale and the Santa Maria Group, among others.

Father Latifi has put plenty of money into his son's career, but also caused a stir in 2018 with his investment in the McLaren Group. With a whopping £200 million, Michael and his investment company Nidala acquired ten per cent of McLaren's shares, causing the rumour mill to go wild. However, the investment seems to be unrelated to his son, because Nicholas never tested for McLaren and will not get a race seat.

Never won anything

That Latifi owes his career to his father seems like a jealous remark, but like Lance Stroll, his fellow countryman has barely notched up a highlight in other classes. Latifi didn't stand out in karting and when he made the switch to Formula Cars in 2012, talent scouts didn't notice him either.

The Canadian driver scored one win in Italian Formula 3 in 2012, only to remain dry until 2017. It was only then that the Canadian managed to score another victory in Formula 2. 

Meanwhile, Latifi has been acquired as a test driver in Formula 1 since 2016. For the first two years, he worked with Renault to then make the switch to Force India in 2018. In 2019, Latifi will got the same role at Williams, after which he finally got a race seat in 2020.

Latifi hasn't made a real impression, as even in his sixth season in Formula 2 (three years of Formula 2 and three years of GP2) he failed to become a champion. Nyck de Vries was too fast for him, but Latifi did take four victories, scoring more in one season than in the rest of his career.

Debut at Williams

In 2020, Latifi joined Williams, which at the time had a severe shortage of money and knowledge. In 2018 and 2019, the historic team went down hard and a driver like Latifi could help the team get back on top.

In his first season, the Canadian was beaten by Russell, but in 2021 he experienced visible growth. Latifi was still a long way from his teammate during most race weekends, but he managed to catch up with him towards the end of the season.

Nicholas Latifi in 2022

With the radical rule changes of 2022 looming, Latifi will also be starting more or less from scratch. The Canadian will want to use the opportunity to silence critics and prove he is more than just a financial asset to Williams.