Latifi says the "Williams never felt so good" in Sochi

Williams has been the laughing stock of Formula 1 in recent seasons, but they are slowly coming out of their shell. George Russell's Saturday qualifying performance is excellent almost every week, something that has earned him a transfer to Mercedes, and the team even managed a podium at the Belgian Grand Prix, although there was no further racing that weekend due to heavy rain on Sunday.

Surprising but frustrating

Williams also fared reasonably well in Sochi. Russell took a sensational third place in qualifying and managed to secure a point for the team on Sunday. Nicholas Latifi failed to finish the race, but was nonetheless very happy with his team: "The Williams never felt so good before," said the 26-year-old Canadian at Motorsport.com.

Those who look at the results sec will not notice that the Williams car was as good a performer as Latifi indicates. "I just couldn't get past Mazepin in the first stint. That was a shame because on the hard tyre the car has never felt so good in my two years with this team. I was faster than Russell, faster than the Alpines, faster than the Astons. They were on the same strategy. That was quite surprising but also makes it all the more frustrating that we had to start from the back. I was flying at the end. It's a shame we couldn't compete."

Bright future

Latifi is looking forward to the future: "The main thing is consistency. Last year there were moments when the speed was there. It was just not always in qualifying or in the race. Now it's more consistent. That gives us confidence. There were some races where I drove further back due to things through no fault of my own. Still, it is nice to compete in those races as well. If I keep doing my job well and we work well together, more of these kind of opportunities will come. We're really on the right track."