F1 Rumour: Nicholas Latifi To Lose His Seat From Williams As Formula 2 Driver Steps Up

It’s no surprise that Williams driver Nicholas Latifi could be facing a contract termination after poor performance during the beginning of the 2022 season. 2021 was looking more promising for the Canadian driver, but 2022 hasn’t been kind with him being one of only three drivers without any points, and a handful of incidents to his name.

Teammate Alex Albon has only made this look worse as this underrated driver has shone and jumped from strength to strength so far this season. He’s constantly outperformed Latifi, and for this reason, it’s now rumoured that Williams will be dropping him.

According to F1 journalist Joe Saward, Williams could be looking to replace Latifi with former F2 champ Nyck de Vries:

“One suggested that Williams is looking to change drivers for the second part of the year as Nicholas Latifi has not done a good enough job. Things are complicated by money that the Canadian brings and by contracts, but if it happens, expect Nyck de Vries to take the drive.”

After winning the 2019 F2 championship, Vries has been looking at opportunities opening up in Formula 1 while also being a reserve and test driver for Mercedes. On top of this, he’s raced in the Formula E Championship, too.

With Albon driving confidently this season, I’d hope that the addition of another good driver would only push him to be faster. Much like the relationship between Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin, it’s very difficult to really compare the performance of these drivers to each other. But with a driver such as Vries, I’d look forward to Williams edging closer to that of Aston Martin on the grid.