Nicholas Latifi admits he “has to deliver” the performances Williams expects if he is to stay in Formula 1 next year.
The Canadian is the only driver yet to score a point in 2022 and hasn’t really come close with 12th at Silverstone his best result.
As a result, Williams are considering their options with Mick Schumacher, Nyck de Vries and even Daniel Ricciardo being mentioned as possible replacements.
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Even so, Latifi isn’t giving up…
“I’ve been having some discussions with the team for months… and I mean the intention is clear from my side, that I want to stay at the team, and I know what’s expected of me and that’s just performances,” he told Formula1.com.
“I’m sure last weekend didn’t go in the way of helping that, as it was a poor weekend from my side.
“It’s just about that. There’s going to be no magic or special one-race outcome that I have to have to secure this seat. It’s just about showing the team consistent performances.
“That’s at least nice to know because it’s clear from my side and I have to deliver on that. It’s as simple as that.”
Ironically, the Alpine situation actually handed Latifi a lifeline as Oscar Piastri was being lined up to replace him until he shunned the Enstone-based team for McLaren.
And Williams boss Jost Capito is keeping an open mind for that second seat.
“We have time and various options,” he told Motorsport-Total.com.
“Once we can see how Nicky develops with the new package now. It took Nicky a relatively long time to get confidence and trust in the car with the new regulations. At Silverstone, he says, somehow the knot broke.
“So we’ll have to see how he develops because he was really good last year alongside George Russell.
“If he can get that back, there’s no reason to talk about replacing him. Now we have to see how he develops and what the alternatives are. We also have a good driver in our academy who can also progress.”
That driver is American Logan Sargeant, who currently sits third in the F2 standings.
“We have Logan, he’s having a fantastic season in F2, he was a bit unlucky recently,” Capito noted.
“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.”
As for when a decision could be made, it appears Williams are getting close to doing so.
“We discuss with everybody and see what’s going on,” Jost added. “We have no rush and we won’t take a decision, at the earliest, until after Monza.”