Category: Formula 1

Despite a contract that runs until 2028 and a dominant car in the RB20, Verstappen’s future at Red Bull was called into question in the wake of the team’s power struggles that had been simmering under the surface for a while and boiled over this year.

Verstappen previously said it was key to his Red Bull future that all key pillars of the team remained in place, but one of its most crucial members is now leaving Milton Keynes, with ace designer Adrian Newey announcing he will depart from the F1 team.

It raised fresh questions over Verstappen’s plans, who played down the significance of Newey leaving by saying his departure is “not as dramatic as it seems” to the outside world.

But amid wild suggestions of a €150 million per year offer made by Mercedes for the Dutchman’s services, Verstappen said performance would be a much more important factor for his future than finances.

When asked if there was any truth to the €150m rumours, he replied: “No. But at the end of the day, even if let’s say that would be the case, €150 million…. money is not going to be the differentiator for me to go somewhere.

“I’m happy with what I’m earning already, it’s about performance.”

Verstappen is the odds-on favourite to secure a fourth straight title in 2024 and if he were to trade Red Bull for Mercedes, who has struggled for performance this season, he would likely be walking away from a potential title in 2025.

“I know myself that if I will be driving for P5 or P6, you get quite grumpy with yourself,” he explained.

“So, it’s always about performance at the end of the day. I mean, everyone knows that, Toto [Wolff] also knows that.

“My future is within Red Bull at the moment.”

Asked if he felt it was odd that Wolff kept publicly courting him as Lewis Hamilton’s potential replacement, he replied: “No, because I think everyone should always be optimistic and hopeful in things.

“But at the moment, I can say that I want to stay with the team because I believe in the project that we have with everyone involved.

“But at the end of the day, in sports but also in life, you don’t know what’s going to happen in the future.”

F1 returned to Vegas for a first grand prix in 41 years with the 2023 event eventually won by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, using a new track incorporating the city’s famous Strip.

But the event attracted considerable criticism for some initial ticket packages costing close to $1,000 for just the Thursday practice running, before prices fell considerably closer to the event.

This decision was down to promoter Las Vegas Grand Prix Inc, which is owned by F1 commercial rights holder Liberty Media, trying to implement “the learnings we saw in Miami in year one” in terms of expensive hospitality offerings, according to event CEO Renee Wilm.

Speaking at the Motorsport Stage at Soho Beach House ahead of this weekend’s third Miami race, Wilm was asked what the main lesson LVGP had picked up following its first event as an F1 race promoter last year.

“We really did take some of the best practices from around the globe that we incorporated into our event,” she replied.

“But we also would love to set the bar even higher with that fan experience and on the sporting side. So, we couldn’t have been prouder that it was a fantastic race.

“I think one of the biggest takeaways for us was the fan engagement and creating a product ladder that was more accessible via a wider variety of fans.

“We leaned very heavily on the high-end, VIP hospitality outside of the paddock based on some of the learnings we saw here in Miami in year one.

“And, unfortunately, that led to a lot of our fanbase really not being able to afford the ticket to be on track, and that’s not something we want to do – we never want to isolate our fans.

“So, this year we’ve completely revamped and we’ve added about 10,000 additional, much more affordable tickets.

“Some leaning in on entertainment, some closer to the paddock so that you can be part of those initial turns of the track.

“And then much lower priced in the Flamingo Zone to allow those entry-level backpackers to really enjoy the event.”

Photo by: Andrew Ferraro / Motorsport Images

Tickets on the LVGP Inc website currently have general admission tickets for the 2024 event available from $150, with the top level hospitality packages at $12,500.

Wilm also said “from a personal perspective, I would love for the Las Vegas GP to be the last race of the season” in the future but admitted F1 had to be “respectful to our partners” in this regard.

Since 2014, F1’s season finales have all taken place at the Abu Dhabi track.

“I now know, first-hand, how hard it is to be a promoter,” Wilm added.

“I think one of the takeaways from this project has made us a lot more sympathetic to what it takes to put on this kind of event.

“I think it would be an incredible opportunity for the Las Vegas Grand Prix, but it would be a big concession from our partners in the Middle East.”

Earlier this week it was confirmed that Newey will leave Red Bull after a 19-year stint at the Milton Keynes squad, having made a huge contribution to the team’s two title streaks with Sebastian Vettel and now Verstappen.

The news has been received as a huge blow for Red Bull, especially if it ends up losing Newey to a rival team amid interest from Ferrari.

But while Verstappen praised Newey’s contributions and wished the 65-year-old would have stayed, he said the prospect of Red Bull losing its talismanic design genius is not a major disaster either.

“Of course, Adrian was incredibly important for the success that Red Bull had but over time his role has changed a bit,” Verstappen said.

“I think a lot of people don’t understand what he was actually doing. I don’t say he is not doing anything, but his role has evolved. A lot of good people came into the team, that has strengthened that whole department.

“Of course, I would have preferred him to stay, because you can always rely on his experience. And as a person, he is a great guy to chat to and relate to.

“But I also really trust that the technical team that we have outside of Adrian is very, very strong and they have basically shown that for the last few years with how competitive the car is.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, 1st position,

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

“So, from the outside, it looks very dramatic, but if you actually know what is happening inside the team, it’s not as dramatic as it seems.”

Verstappen said there was no point in personally trying to convince Newey to stay and doesn’t begrudge him a new challenge.

“I don’t need to convince anyone, because at the end of the day, if someone really wants to leave, they should leave,” he added.

“That’s also what I wrote to him. If you think that is the right decision for yourself and your family, or you seek a different challenge, or whatever, you have to do it.

“At the end of the day, F1 is a shark tank, everyone thinks about themselves at the end of the day. I know that, I’m not stupid. So that’s fine.”

“I cannot deny that I would have preferred him to stay just for how he is as a person, his knowledge and with what he will bring potentially to another team if he wants to join.

“Besides that, I trust that the people that we have, they’re incredibly good at what they do.”

Stroll ran into Ricciardo under the safety car in Shanghai, which ended Ricciardo’s chance of scoring his first points of the 2024 season with RB.

Ricciardo was incensed by the incident, especially after it became clear that Stroll ducked responsibility for the incident and blamed drivers ahead, saying it made his “blood boil”.

The Australian revealed in Miami that he and Stroll still hadn’t cleared the air, but suggested there would be no point in doing so if Stroll still felt he was blameless for the contact.

“I would say no, because I feel it’s not going to go anywhere,” Ricciardo replied when asked if he wanted to speak with the Canadian.

“I can accept an apology, I’m not that much of an asshole. But the fact that there’s not even that… He clearly doesn’t think he did anything wrong. So I guess there’s not much to say.

“Obviously, if we sit next to each other in the drivers’ briefing and he wants to chat, I’m not going to ignore him or anything.”

Daniel Ricciardo, VCARB 01, Nico Hulkenberg, Haas VF-24, Lance Stroll, Aston Martin AMR24, and the remainder of the field

Photo by: Mark Sutton

Ricciardo explained that in previous incidents he always made a point of clearing the air with his rivals, even if he wasn’t fully convinced he was in the wrong, just to avoid other drivers painting a target on his back.

“When I was younger, maybe I was more stubborn, didn’t always apologise for something that was my fault,” he said.

“But the last few years, if I take someone out or even if it’s 50/50, I’ll still say: ‘Look, maybe I could have done better, so sorry for ruining our day.’ I’ll just text them clear the air a little bit.

“We’re all rivals, but you don’t want to have a target and you don’t need enemies. I’m not going as far as saying he is an enemy or anything. It’s an incident and we’ll move on.

“But you don’t obviously want to get what you’re giving. In that position, if I didn’t see him in person I would at least say: ‘Hey man sorry, I was looking somewhere else, or you braked really hard and caught me off guard.’ Whatever, just something.

“But yeah, it’s fine. Obviously we’re talking about it, but I have certainly moved on.”

Stroll ducked questions about the incident in Miami, and when asked if he attempted to reach out to Ricciardo, he said: “Not for this room. Those things are done behind closed doors.”

Aston Martin has lodged a petition to review the 10-second time penalty and three points on Alonso’s licence that were handed down for a collision he had with Carlos Sainz in the Chinese Grand Prix sprint.

A stewards’ meeting has been called for 8am in Miami on Friday to judge whether or not Aston Martin has gathered a significant and relevant enough new piece of evidence to justify a fresh hearing over the matter.

Speaking ahead of the Miami GP, Alonso did not want to go into too many details about the case, but said there were some important answers that Aston Martin was chasing.

And in particular, the Spaniard says that they want some clarity in terms of why he appears to have been singled out so harshly for incidents in recent races – which included the sanction he got for his defensive driving against George Russell on the final lap of the Australian GP that triggered a crash.

Carlos Sainz, Ferrari SF-24, Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin AMR24, George Russell, Mercedes F1 W15

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

“Obviously we have different opinions, but this happens in any sport,” said Alonso.

“Even when you watch football on TV, depending on which team you are, it’s a yellow card or red card or not. I think we will have different opinions as well always.

“But I think that in China, I think 99% of the people were enjoying the sprint event and the battles, and I think I had the hardest penalty of the race.

“So maybe it was a little bit confusing there, but let’s see tomorrow.”

And with penalties having been given to him in both Australia and China, Alonso reckoned that it was important that he and the team got some answers about why certain decisions had been taken.

“The rules are the rules, and we accept those,” he said. “Sometimes we agree, sometimes we disagree, but we have to accept it because they [the stewards] have all the power to make those decisions, and they have all the understanding of the rules.

“But, as I said, I had the hardest penalty in the last two events in Australia and in China, so it’s good to make sure that everything is okay and nothing else is happening.”

Ahead of Hamilton’s arrival at Maranello next year, and in the wake of Newey’s decision to leave Red Bull, Ferrari is known to be pursuing the design genius to come on board and help create a superteam.

If its overtures are successful, then it would be a massive boost to Hamilton’s future title hopes, after he agreed a deal last winter to join the Italian outfit from 2025.

Newey will become a free agent next March, which is still early enough for him to have an influence on the crucial new-rules-era cars that are coming for 2026.

Speaking ahead of the Miami Grand Prix, Hamilton said he would be “very” excited to work with Newey, as he steered clear of revealing details on whether a bid to land him had been part of the negotiations he had with Ferrari last winter.

“I mean, this is all private conversation stuff,” said Hamilton. “[But] if I was to do a list of people that I’d love to work with, he would absolutely be at the top of it.”

Hamilton added it was clear that Ferrari was making great strides in F1 right now, and any success it had in getting Newey would only further help its progress to the front of the field.

“Adrian…he’s got such a great history, track record,” added Hamilton. “He has obviously just done an amazing job through his career and engaging with teams, and the knowledge that he has, and I think he would be an amazing addition.

“I think they’ve already got a great team. They’re already making huge progress, strides forwards, and their car is quicker this year. It would be a privilege to work with him.”

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-AMG F1 Team

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

Hamilton and Newey have never worked together in F1 before, and the closest that came to happening was McLaren – which the British driver joined in 2007 shortly after its technical chief had left for Red Bull.

“When I joined McLaren, I think it was an evolution of his car,” added Hamilton. “I think I got there just after he left, so that car will have evolved from a concept that he had worked on. I felt privileged that I’d had the chance to touch something that he had worked on.”

While some have suggested that Newey’s departure from Red Bull will be a big blow to the squad over the next few years, Hamilton is not so sure.

“We just always need to remember that there’s a lot of people in the background, and there is not one key person,” he said. “It is not one person.

“It’s a whole team of people who do the job. So, you can imagine, of all the amazing experience that he brings to the team, the people that he works with will continue to do an amazing job.

“I don’t anticipate Red Bull not continuing to build great cars moving forwards. But any team would be fortunate to have the opportunity to work with him.”

On Wednesday Red Bull announced Newey will leave the team in 2025 and he has been heavily linked with a move to Ferrari, while Aston Martin has also been seen as an option for the British designer.

While his next career move isn’t confirmed, Perez is certain wherever Newey moves to he will make a quick and positive input into multiple areas of any F1 team.

“Adrian, with the experience he has, he has contributed a lot to the Red Bull philosophy so I assume he will cause an immediate impact wherever he goes or whatever he does,” Perez said in the Miami Grand Prix pre-event press conference.

“He is a very clever guy and a very hard worker. Working with Adrian, he is much more than a designer, he can influence even strategies, set-up, he could have that influence on a race weekend.

“To have him around on race weekends was great. He is a very strong individual and wherever he goes he will cause an immediate impact. But it is a whole group of people that he will require to have around him as well.”

While disappointed to hear of Newey’s impending departure from Red Bull, the Mexican driver is confident the world champion squad has an organisation able to lose an engineering head of his calibre and remain a force at the front of F1.

“It is obviously not ideal, someone like Adrian [leaving], he has been tremendous to our team, to our organisation, and he is also a very good friend of mine from all the time we’ve spent together,” Perez explained.

“But, at the end of the day, there are times in life when you spend 20 years at Red Bull I think he probably wants to do something else and that is fair.

Adrian Newey, Chief Technology Officer, Red Bull Racing, on the grid

Photo by: Alexander Trienitz / Motorsport Images

“I think Red Bull is in a great place and it has a very strong organisation with Pierre [Wache – technical director], Enrico [Balbo – head of aerodynamics] and Ben [Waterhouse – head of performance engineering]. I think the whole aero group is very strong and I think we are looking forward to the future.

“You’ve seen in the past at these big teams, big names when they leave they will always exist, it isn’t down to one single individual. It is a whole organisation and I think Christian [Horner] has done a great job in preparing for the next generation of what is going to happen at Red Bull.”

The six-time grand prix winner is also convinced Newey’s departure won’t be followed by a wider walkout at Red Bull.

The futures of several key Red Bull management members have been in the spotlight this year, with Horner’s position as team principal under greatest scrutiny during the hearing into allegations of inappropriate behaviour with a colleague. The hearing concluded with Horner cleared of wrongdoing.

Meanwhile, Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko said his position was under threat during the Saudi Arabian GP weekend, but he has remained in his post following talks with the team’s parent company boss Oliver Mintzlaff.

“I don’t think so,” Perez replied when asked if he was worried about more team members leaving Red Bull.

“I think everyone is fully committed to the team and we are having a tremendous season once again and the future looks bright at the team.

“I think it is normal that you have this sort of movement, losing some people, but I think the organisation remains really strong and I don’t see any more changes ahead in that regard.”

Last week, Audi made its first move in F1’s turbulent driver market as it signed Hulkenberg to a multi-year contract that means he will leave the Haas squad at the end of the 2024 campaign.

The move, which had been in the works since midway through 2023 and involved discussions about Hulkenberg possibly joining Sauber for this season before he ended up continuing for a second year with Haas, reunites Hulkenberg with Seidl after they won the 2015 Le Mans 24 Hours together for Porsche.

READ MORE: Where Hulkenberg’s wrong-righting Audi F1 moves leaves the driver market

Seidl was then the team principal for the uber-successful Porsche LMP1 squad, which Hulkenberg joined for two rounds in 2015 a Spa and Le Mans, where he scored famous debut Le Mans triumph alongside Nick Tandy and Earl Bamber.

When asked how important Seidl had been in getting him onboard with Sauber ahead of this weekend’s Miami Grand Prix, Hulkenberg replied: “Yeah [and] he’s also the driving factor there.

“One of the deciders, one of the top key people in the management at Audi. So, of course, it came through him.

“And he’s a very, you know, direct and straightforward guy with me.”

Hulkenberg then provided an example of his relationship with Seidl – a conversation from the 2020 F1 season when the German driver was out of full-time work having been dropped by Renault at the end of the previous year and Seidl was then the McLaren team boss.

Andreas Seidl, Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber CEO

Photo by: Sauber

“I remember 2020 when it was COVID before the season started, and I was not sure what I wanted to do,” Hulkenberg explained.

“But I remember phoning him up and seeing – he was at McLaren obviously at the time.

“I was like, ‘Andy, how is it looking? Is there maybe a chance for me?’ And he was like, straight, ‘No, don’t even get your hopes up. It’s not going to happen.’

“And you know, this time around, years later, it was very different. He was very keen to sign and to have me.”

At the Hard Rock Stadium on Thursday, Hulkenberg also recalled his previous season racing for Sauber in 2013, which were a “very different set of circumstances” many then viewed as a precursor to a Ferrari – who supplied engines to Sauber – move that never came.

“With the team everything was fine,” he added. “It was only with one person that it was difficult.

“And that was the team principal, Monisha [Kaltenborn] at the time, which was a bit difficult and tricky situation, but everything else was fine.

“Every team I worked with and raced for I never had problems with the team, with the mechanics, with the engineers, I’ve always enjoyed working with all the team members and working as a force, as a team pushing for performance.

“So obviously now that’s quite different from back then.”

Additional reporting Mandy Curi and Ronald Vording

Motorsport is one of the most expensive industries in the world as Red Bull paid a staggering $7,445,817 to enter the 2024 F1 season. 

But costs are also high at a national level with teams paying up to £29,000 for a space on the British GT grid. 

So it is no wonder why some motorsport teams will appoint a pay driver, which is a concept that’s very unique to the industry. 

What is a pay driver in F1? 

A pay driver is a term in motorsport for somebody who competes for free as they bring money to a team rather than being paid by it. There are various ways in which the driver may have that money whether it is through their own bank account, funding from relatives or via a sponsor. 

Niki Lauda, for example, paid for an F2 seat at March in 1971 after withdrawing a bank loan. Lawrence Stroll paid Williams to give his son Lance an F1 seat for the 2017 season, while five years later Zhou Guanyu made his debut after sponsors in his native China helped him secure a spot at Alfa Romeo. 

It costs a lot of money for a team to enter F1 with the lowest entry fee for the 2024 season being Haas’ at $736,737, so some constructors have previously relied on a pay driver to survive.  

That was the case for Forti Corse, who entered bankruptcy during 1996 after losing its pay driver Pedro Diniz at the end of the previous year. Forti failed to score any points during its season on the grid so pay drivers tend to go to backmarkers who are short of funding. 

Pedro Diniz, Forti Corse

Photo by: Motorsport Images

In the 21st century, Williams has often hired a pay driver as it was drastically short of money before its ownership change in 2020. In 2018, the team partnered Stroll with another inexperienced driver in Sergey Sirotkin who brought much sponsorship to Williams before Robert Kubica did the same in 2019.  

As a result, the pay driver tag is very controversial because many reach F1 despite their skillset not deserving it to the belief of some fans. 

Nikita Mazepin was an example of that as he joined Haas for the 2021 season, while his father’s chemical company Uralkali became the team’s title sponsor. Mazepin’s promotion to F1 came after finishing just fifth in F2 and results during his rookie campaign did not help the unwanted tag either, as he was slower than team-mate Mick Schumacher in every qualifying session during the season. But Mazepin only lasted a year in F1, as Haas dropped him just two weeks before the 2022 campaign in response to his native country Russia invading Ukraine.  

Not all pay drivers have limited talent though – Jordan was paid £150,000 to give Michael Schumacher his debut – and sometimes the backing from one can help a team to be competitive.  

That is because, how can a team build a competitive car if it does not have the necessary funds to do so? It sometimes comes down to the question of what’s more important, a talented driver or a competitive car? 

The concept is not exclusive to F1 either. In sportscar racing, the term ‘gentleman driver’ is often used for somebody who claims a race seat through personal backing, while it can also be for a person who purchases a car before partnering with a team to form a privateer entry.  

Gentleman drivers are more widely accepted in sportscar racing though, because in many series from the World Endurance Championship to British GT teams typically consist of a professional and an amateur driver.  

#91 Century Motorsport BMW M4 GT3: Darren Leung, Dan Harper

Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images

The future of F1 pay drivers 

The F1 pay driver is now less common for two reasons: the rollout of the FIA superlicence and the commercial boom that the series has recently had.  

Under the superlicence, a driver must accrue 40 points before reaching F1. Points are awarded based on a driver’s finishing position in other categories, so not just anybody with money can reach F1 because they must now be of a certain standard to get there.  

Then there is F1’s popularity increase from the early 2020s, which has resulted in the value of all 10 teams rising. As of 2024, Ferrari is the most valuable team at $3.9billion yet even William, who is the least valuable, is still worth $725million. 

Guenther Steiner, former team principal for Haas, echoed those thoughts saying: “In the old days, you had teams which were financially not stable. Now we’ve got 10 very solid teams here so nobody needs to rely on a pay driver right now because Formula 1 is in such a good spot.” 

Pay drivers in F1 history  

While drivers like Stroll, Lauda, Schumacher and Mazepin have all received a race seat through financial backing, they are not the only so-called pay drivers in history – here are some other examples.  

Vitaly Petrov 

• Teams: Renault, Caterham 

• Grand prix starts: 57 (2010 Bahrain Grand Prix – 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix) 

• Wins: 0 

• Podiums: 1 

• Championships: 0 

Vitaly Petrov made his F1 debut with Renault at the 2010 Bahrain Grand Prix after a promising 2009 season where he finished second in the GP2 championship. Despite that, his promotion to F1 sparked much controversy because he landed the seat after securing financial backing from his father and the Russian government, who helped him become the first-ever F1 driver from Russia.  

Vitaly Petrov (RUS) Renault R30 leads Fernando Alonso (ESP) Ferrari F10 and Mark Webber (AUS) Red Bull Racing RB6. Formula One World Championship, Rd 19, Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Race, Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi, UAE, Sunday 14 November 2010.

Photo by: Daniel Kalisz

Petrov’s support from the Russian government was strong and ahead of the 2011 season then prime minister Vladimir Putin pleaded for more backing towards the driver. He started that campaign with a podium at the season-opening Australian GP, but it ended in Renault not retaining Petrov for 2012 despite him finishing a career-best of 10th in the 2011 standings. 

That wasn’t the end of his F1 career though, as Petrov moved to Caterham for the 2012 season but that partnership only lasted a year after failing to score a point. After F1, Petrov competed in the 2014 DTM season before moving to WEC from 2016 to 2019 where he claimed two podiums at the Le Mans 24 Hours.  

Pastor Maldonado  

• Teams: Williams, Lotus  

• Grand prix starts: 95 (2011 Australian Grand Prix – 2015 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix) 

• Wins: 1 

• Podiums: 1 

• Championships: 0  

Pastor Maldonado became the first Venezuelan F1 driver for 27 years – Johnny Cecotto drove the 1984 season – when he made his debut for Williams at the 2011 Australian GP. He was given the drive after winning the 2010 GP2 title, while offering Williams £30million a year through oil company PDVSA – a deal that was personally approved by then Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez. 

Maldonado subsequently became a controversial figure during his F1 career, as he was involved in a series of crashes including 11 in 2015 although not all were his fault.  

Despite consistently running outside of the points, Maldonado did have his shock day in the sun by winning the 2012 Spanish GP. He achieved it by starting on pole as original pole sitter Lewis Hamilton was demoted to a back-row start because McLaren failed to supply enough fuel for analysis post-qualifying. 

Maldonado then lost the lead to Fernando Alonso at the start but regained it by undercutting the Ferrari driver in the first pitstop window. Maldonado had to make another overtake for the lead when Kimi Raikkonen ran a longer penultimate stint, before holding off Alonso’s late charge to give Williams its first victory for eight years and also its last as of 2024.  

Podium: race winner Pastor Maldonado, Williams, second place Fernando Alonso, Ferrari, and third place Kimi Raikkonen, Lotus F1

Photo by: Sutton Images

He left Williams for Lotus in 2014 but that partnership only lasted two years, because funding from Maldonado’s sponsor ran dry at the end of 2015 causing him to lose his F1 seat. Maldonado became a Pirelli test driver in 2016 and 2017 before competing in the 2018-19 WEC campaign where he finished third in the LMP2 class. 

Rio Haryanto 

Rio Haryanto became the first Indonesian to ever compete in F1 when he made his debut for Manor at the 2016 Australian GP. He landed the seat after finishing fourth in the 2015 GP2 championship but, most importantly, had funding from oil company Pertamina for the first 11 grands prix. 

Manor then allowed Haryanto to compete in the 12th grand prix, the final one before the summer break, before dropping him mid-season as he needed an extra €7million to complete the campaign.  

Esteban Ocon duly replaced Haryanto, who became Manor’s test driver before moving to GT World Challenge Asia and the Asian Le Mans Series after a disappointing F1 career where he failed to score a point.  

Nicholas Latifi  

Nicholas Latifi became yet another pay driver to have competed for Williams when he was promoted from his test driver role for the 2020 season. Latifi argued that finishing second in the 2019 F2 standings meant he deserved the opportunity, but fans still labelled him as a pay driver because the Canadian came with vast sponsorship including his father’s company Sofina Foods.   

It also did not help Latifi that he struggled from the off, as he finished his rookie season with zero points while failing to beat team-mate George Russell in qualifying. Latifi’s sophomore year was better as he finished inside the points twice, but was in the headlines for the wrong reason at the 2021 Abu Dhabi GP when his crash caused a late safety car in the controversial title decider between Hamilton and Max Verstappen. 

Nicholas Latifi, Williams FW44

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

Latifi then entered a crucial final year of his contract in 2022, where he had a new team-mate in Alex Albon as Russell moved to Mercedes. But, Latifi was again consistently beaten by a team-mate and just one points finish that season led to Williams not renewing his contract. 

That was also Latifi’s final year in motorsport as he retired following the 2022 season to pursue a Masters of Business Administration at the London Business School. a