Stepping into carbon fiber rockets at speeds in excess of 320km/h over 22 weekends makes Formula 1 drivers some of the most daring athletes on the planet.
But it will take no bravery, nerve or gumption to declare Nicolas Laffey as the worst performing driver of the 2022 F1 season.
Latifi’s adventure at the top of motorsport appears to have come to an end in his third F1 campaign. It’s not hard to see why.
Although he was usually in the slowest car, he was regularly the slowest of his peers. He made some very confusing mistakes. An Alfa Romeo driver driving to Zhou Guanyu when he pulled over in Singapore. In a wet Monaco, he crashed on the formation lap, opened for a new front wing, then ran off the track at Saint Devot and fell behind the rest of the pack. He misjudged the short track’s dynamic shortcut before the final chicane at Suzuka, earning millions of video views and vicious mockery.
His exploits have seen him become a bit of a joke among online F1 fans, even though his skills behind the wheel surpass those of many drivers in F1’s long history.
In fact, Laffy has been spinning his wheels since the beginning of the season. New team-mate Alex Albon crashed out of the year, putting his car 14th in Bahrain, while Laffy took 20th and last place. Woe to Jeddah, just a week later. A crash in Q1 was bad, but not a disaster. His mistake in the end of an uncapped run the following day was one of the most embarrassing moments of the season.
It became clear that Laffy could not match what Albon was doing with the car. Albon scored points in Melbourne, Miami and then Spa-Francorchamps, while Latifi finished in the top 15 once in the same season.
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Monza was always going to be his best points chance given the high-speed sliding nature of the Williams. This was his big chance – a chance to fight for an outside chance for a point. Instead, Albon fell ill and was replaced by Nick de Vries on Saturday.
Instead, a last-minute F1 challenger immediately disqualified the team’s regular driver. Not only that, but De Vries sat down on the opening lap and his team-mate dropped four places to ninth, while Laffey came home 15th. If it wasn’t already over for Laffy, it certainly was now.
To say that Latifi’s season was without highlights would be an understatement. He headed to Silverstone with a shiny new upgrade for his team-mate but not only did he make it to Q2 at Albon’s expense in a rain-affected qualifying session, he took it a step further by reaching his first Q3. Time in his career. Yes, he may have taken to the gravel during Q3 which ensured he would start tenth, but it was still an achievement to be proud of.
At Suzuka, again in wet conditions, Laffey took an early gamble to switch to medium tires and then put the car on track for the final 20 laps to finish ninth and secure his first and only point of the season. But after missing practice on Friday, he couldn’t even enjoy his best result of 2022, not even a joke.
By this time it was already public knowledge that he was about to retire, but the loss seemed to sum up Latifi’s impression as a driver in his three years in F1. Facing the reality of being out of the car for next year and possibly the rest of his career, Laffy admits this third season could be his worst when he needs to produce his best.
But despite his last grand prix comparison, Laffy has left the sport, not least, doing so out of respect for his former team and his peers on the grid.
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