Headstrong Latifi starts P10 in British GP for Williams Racing

Nicholas Latifi produced a brilliant lap of the Silverstone circuit just when it mattered, taking full advantage of wet weather conditions to make it into Q3 for the British Grand Prix.

The Canadian’s effort means that he starts an excellent tenth on the grid, behind former Williams Racing driver George Russell and the Alfa Romeo of Zhou Guanyu.

“A very special day in tricky conditions. To get through to Q2 was a great achievement and a nice confidence boost, and then Q3 was more than we could’ve hoped for,” commented Latifi in his team’s press release. “Straight out of the pits things felt good and I was getting into a rhythm.

“The team did a great job in Q1 and Q2 of putting me in the right place on the track when I needed to. We saw how important that was for Q2 getting that lap in at the right time before the track got worse with the weather. Coming off in Q3 was frustrating but overall a great team effort and a satisfying day”

Latifi’s fine qualifying lap is all the more significant because the historic Silverstone circuit represents a very special venue for this much-loved British team, the Grove based outfit winning in 1979, 1980, 1986, 1987, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996 and most recently with Jacques Villeneuve in 1997.

Despite such an encouraging start to the weekend, Latifi remains mindful that with the weather forecast set to change again on race day, a points finish would represent a very good result for the team.

“We have to be realistic going in tomorrow as we’re out of position with faster cars being behind us,” added the Canadian. “We need to be very strategic in how we approach the race. It’ll be a race of attrition with how we manage the tyres.

“Anything is possible so we’ll focus on our own race and maximise any opportunities that may come our way.”

Teammate Alexander Albon has scored all of the team’s points so far this season. And the Anglo-Thai driver, sporting a new and heart-warming race helmet, is also optimistic that he can make up positions come race day.

“The conditions were actually okay today despite the rain, with the car feeling good but there was less grip on the 2nd set of tyres,” added Albon.

“It’s been a bit different to drive with the new updates but in Free Practice 3 I was feeling quite comfortable with the car, even in the rain in Q1, it felt ok. At the end of Q1 we opted to do a cool down lap but we lost too much tyre temperature.

“The track was starting to dry, and everyone was starting to get faster, but I just couldn’t find enough grip. It was a tight call but in hindsight, I don’t think the cool down lap was the best choice, but we’ll see what we can do with tomorrow. We do have a good car, so we need to go back and analyse it.”

TEAM UP WITH ACRONIS

Prominent once again on the nose of the car and on the front wing endplates this season are the team’s official cyber protection partner Acronis. Williams Racing uses Acronis technology to add extra layers of protection to its IT infrastructure, protecting hundreds of servers and endpoint devices.

During the 2021 season and continuing this year, Acronis opened up an exciting #TeamUp Program, giving new and existing service providers the opportunity to support sports partnerships, join the sports ecosystem, attend races and enjoy amazing sports marketing benefits. To find out more, please visit https://www.acronis.com/en-us/lp/msp-sports/

Williams Racing FW44 front wings.
Spanish Grand Prix, Thursday 19th May 2022. Barcelona, Spain.

Fraser Masefield

Sports news and features writer, web editor and author.