“I would be knocked out by the smallest of margins!”: Nicholas Latifi insists that his gap to George Russell was not as big as people ‘made it to be’

"I would be knocked out by the smallest of margins!": Nicholas Latifi insists that his gap to George Russell was not as big as people 'made it to be'

Williams driver Nicholas Latifi feels that his performances were closer to George Russell than most people claimed them to be. 

Latifi and Russell spent two years together as teammates in Williams. During their time together, it was clear that Russell consistently outperformed the Canadian in all aspects.

Russell was particularly good at Qualifying, as we saw during the course of the 2021 season. He took his Williams into Q2 in most of the races, and also started on the front row in Belgium. His strong Qualifying performances earned him the nickname of ‘Mr. Saturday’.

However, Latifi feels that the gap between him and the Brit was made to look bigger than it actually was. He pointed out the fact that he would be knocked out of Q1 by the smallest of margins, whereas his teammate would scrape through to earn higher grid positions.

“Before the summer break a steady growth started, both on the qualifying performance front and in race management,” Latifi said to Motorsport.com.

“These are two completely different aspects. But each driver must be able to combine them very well in order to put together a good race weekend.”

Also read: FIA President contacted Lewis Hamilton but is yet to receive any response

Williams never treated him and George Russell differently, says Nicholas Latifi

Latifi went on to say that the Williams team always saw the ‘bigger picture’ when it came to comparing him and Russell.

“Sometimes in my situation, it was frustrating to find myself out of Q2 by a very small margin.” said the 26-year-old.

“Sometimes I was really close to George. Then of course he would improve his time in Q2. And at the end of the race, his Q2 time would often be compared to my Q1 time, making it seem like a huge gap.”

“But it always comforted me to know that the team had the picture of everything. And obviously, I was very happy to see that before the summer break things improved. It continued in the right direction afterwards.”

“I know I had one of the fastest drivers on the grid as a teammate, I think that will be even more clear to everyone next season.”

George Russell took part in his last race of Williams at the Abu Dhabi GP in 2021. He is set to partner Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes, next season onwards.

Also read: Kimi Raikkonen gives his honest opinion on the time shared with two-time world champion

Post Edited By: Samriddhi Jaiswal
George Russell Nicholas Latifi Williams

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Somin Bhattacharjee

Basketball Editor Somin Bhattacharjee first discovered the game during the 2014 FIBA World Cup. Not long after, he turned to the NBA and found himself drawn to the Golden State Warriors — right at the start of Stephen Curry’s rise. Over time, the admiration turned into full-blown support for the team, one that continues even as the Curry era approaches its twilight. A true hoophead, Somin also follows EuroLeague basketball closely and enjoys exploring the game beyond the NBA. Though holding a bachelor's degree in marketing, Somin discovered his true calling in writing. Since 2021, he has penned over 3,000 articles for TheSportsRush, covering everything from breaking news to sharp opinion pieces and detailed exclusives. He thrives on writing about in-game moments and the reactions that make basketball a uniquely emotional sport. Beyond basketball, Somin plays different sports including soccer and remains a passionate fan of Spanish football giants Real Madrid

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