Latifi on course to retain Williams F1 seat for 2022

Both Latifi and current teammate George Russell's deals expire at the end of the year and Williams is yet to announce its line-up for next season. Russell has been increasingly linked with a graduation to a Mercedes works seat for 2022, while Latifi’s chances of staying put at Williams look strong.

Williams boss Jost Capito said there was “no reason not to have him [Latifi] in next year” before the Canadian went on to claim his best F1 result to date with a brilliant drive to seventh place in Hungary.

Speaking ahead of this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix, Capito reaffirmed his stance that Latifi deserves to keep his seat at Grove for a third campaign.

“I wouldn’t say I was impressed, because I know his capabilities,” Capito replied when asked how impressed he was by Latifi’s Hungarian GP drive. “He did a fantastic race and he has done fantastic races in the past.

“It is impressive, but I was not impressed because I know what I can expect of him and he is rarely doing any mistakes and is completely very capable of doing what his race engineer tells him what to do, what lap times he should do, what to achieve and he is a very good race driver and deserves a seat in our team, definitely.”

On Thursday, Latifi claimed he feels “100%” ready to lead Williams in 2022 should Russell get the call to join Mercedes.

Capito agreed that his driver is showing all the hallmarks of becoming a team leader but indicated that there is still room for improvement if Latifi wants to become a fully fledged team leader.

“I think maybe not now yet, but he is really improving race-by-race and I’m sure by the end of the season he is ready to do that,” Capito said.

“Especially his personality is in the right spot to lead the team. He works very well with the engineers, he is very motivational, he is very clear in his direction, where he wants the car to develop and he’s very much liked by the team. He’s very demanding.

“I think he also learned a lot with George, they work together and spend a lot of time together on and off the track, so it’s a fantastic relationship and I’m sure by the end of the season he will be in that position that he can lead the team.”

Asked if his comments point towards a 2022 contract extension for Latifi, Capito replied: “It looks like, I would say.”

Capito once again stressed that his side is in no rush to firm up its driver plans, joking Williams only needs to know whether Russell will be departing or not “before the first test next year”.

“In the moment we are not worried about our situation and I think Toto will take the decision sooner or later, I believe it will be sooner,” he added.

"The Williams seat seems to be a very attractive seat for every driver who hasn’t got a fixed seat for next year and as most of the seats are fixed for next year, I think we can lean back and wait for the decision, and when the decision is taken then we can get into more detailed discussions with various drivers.”

Ex-F1 drivers Nico Hulkenberg, Daniil Kvyat, Alex Albon and Formula E champion Nyck de Vries have all been linked as potential candidates for a Williams drive. 

Regarding a possible replacement for Russell, Capito said Williams will consider both experienced and rookie drivers.

“I think there are different options and different strategies,” Capito explained. “It could be an advantage to have an experienced driver and it could be an advantage to have a rookie, and you will not know what would have been better or not as good.

“We are looking into the various options; at drivers who have a lot of experience and drivers who have some experience, and drivers who have no experience.

“It’s not just the experience, it’s also the personality and the spirit to join Williams. Where Williams is now, we are improving and we have ambitious objectives for the years to come.

“The most important is that we have a driver with the spirit to support Williams on the way Williams wants to go. That’s more important than experience or non experience.”