Williams says it’s still open to considering retaining Nicholas Latifi for the 2023 season if he can satisfy one criterion.
William confirmed that Nicholas Latifi was still an option for 2023. The team assured that Canadian’s performance in upcoming races will guarantee such consideration.
This is Latifi’s third season with the Williams and the Canadian is the only driver on the grid this season who hasn’t scored a point yet.
Williams has already extended Alex Albon’s contract till the end of 2023. The other seat of Williams was earlier reserved with Oscar Piastri as Alpine planned to send its Reserve driver to Williams F1 for the 2023 season.
However, things changed ever since the surprise move by Fernando Alonso switching teams to Aston Martin. The F1 driver went into a frenzy after Piastri rejected the Alpine seat for a potential McLaren seat.
Nevertheless, this means that Williams can now look for more options for the 2023 season.
Williams team boss clarifies on Latifi’s future
Before the summer break, Nicholas Latifi’s future looked uncertain with Williams. However, things have taken a turn now.
“For us it was interesting to watch this mess from the outside as we have no involvement in that,”
said Williams team boss Jost Capito, referring to F1’s driver market chaos.
“We have our two drivers, we announced Alex. I think he handled our drivers very well. Also with Nicky, he’s improved a lot in recent races.
“He is willing to continue with us and we would be willing to continue with him.
“He has now another three European races where he can prove he can get better with the car, get more confident with the car.
F1 returns to Spa after the summer break for the Belgian Grand Prix.
“He was on a good way recently. If he uses the brakes properly and shows his performances, there is a good chance of us being with him next year.”
Other options for Williams?
Latifi isn’t the only option for Williams for the upcoming year. Rookie driver Logan Sargeant is also gaining attention. The rookie driver has shown some incredible performances this year with Williams in Formula 2.
It was indicated earlier too that Sargeant is a contender for the 2023 Williams seat.
“On the other hand, we have our own young drivers,” Capito said. “We have Logan, he’s having a fantastic season in F2, he was a bit unlucky recently.
“But he has a good chance to get the points for the Superlicence for next year. I think we are sorted with drivers and have good options.”
Moreover, can Daniel Ricciardo be an option too? The Australian was axed by his current team McLaren and is free for the 2023 season with no signing yet.
“We discuss with everybody and see what’s going on,” concluded Capito. “We have no rush and we won’t take a decision, at earliest, until after Monza.”
Nicholas Latifi’s future is still uncertain but the Canadian can still show improvements and secure his seat.
For more updates, follow us on Twitter.
For more sports updates, make sure to follow us on: