1996 F1 World Champion Damon Hill insists that Nicholas Latifi does not have the pace to remain in Formula 1.
Latifi made his F1 debut at the 2020 Australian GP with Williams. He has remained with the team ever since, but his underwhelming performances have led to people questioning his place in the sport.
Williams have had a very weak car for the entirety of Latifi’s F1 career up until now. However, people find him too poor for F1 mainly because he has been comprehensively beaten by every teammate he has been up against. Current Mercedes driver George Russell was his partner at Williams for two years and the Brit outshone him almost every race weekend.
In 2022, Alex Albon made a return to F1 replacing Russell at Williams. In just his first season back, Albon settled in perfectly and has guided his Williams car to some great results this campaign. Latifi on the other hand is still the only driver on track yet to score a point this year.
Nicholas Latifi does not have the pace to stay in F1, says Damon Hill
At last week’s Italian GP, Dutch driver Nyck de Vries acted as a last-minute replacement for Albon (who was out due to appendicitis). De Vries, who had never driven the car before put in a very impressive performance to finish P9 and score points on his debut. Latifi meanwhile, finished 15th out of the 16 drivers who finished the race.
Damon Hill himself is a legend in F1. He won the 1996 World Title with Williams, and is an active pundit in the sport today. While talking to Sky Sports after the Italian GP last weekend, the Brit made a brutal assessment on Latifi’s position in F1.
“I’m sorry, but that’s the way it is,” Hill said. “Nicholas doesn’t have the pace to stay in that position in Formula 1. He’s had some good times, but here’s a guy who hasn’t even driven in a Grand Prix before and he’s done a fantastic job.”
“He has done enough for us to talk about him,” he added. “He has Toto talking about him. That is what you have to do to become a Formula 1 driver.”
De Vries’ stunning drive in Monza has earned him plenty of plaudits. The 2021 Formula E Champion is now firmly in contention for a full-time F1 seat in the future.
