While Alexander Albon appears to have already found his flow, Nicholas Latifi is struggling to build confidence in Williams’ car. The Canadian knows he needs to reach his teammate’s level despite balancing issues with the car.
Besides Mick Schumacher, Latifi is the only driver who has not scored any points this season. Teammate Albon scored in Australia thanks to a surprising strategy of pitting only on the last lap. At Imola it once again became clear that Latifi had a lot to gain, as Albon was a lot faster throughout the weekend.
Latifi admits he struggles to master Williams and lacks confidence in the car. “This is everywhere,” Latifi explains. “Once you don’t fully depress the throttle on the straights, that’s when you start. Alex obviously feels more comfortable in the car.”
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Latifi continues: “No matter how fast the car is, we know we lack downforce.” We know we’re struggling off the balance sheet, it shows. But he can handle it better, so I have to get to that level.”
Latifi asserts that the main reason behind this is a lack of trust. “It’s not about driving style, and it doesn’t mean I brake too late or speed too low in mid-speed turns. If you’re not confident in the car, you can’t start working on the technicalities when you finally have to.”
