Nicholas Latifi: Goodbye to a GOAT

Ok, he may not actually be a GOAT (greatest of all time), but Nicholas Latifi's F1 career will be one fans remember for a long time and not necessarily all for the right reasons.

After what seems like months of speculation, it was recently confirmed that Williams race driver; Nicholas Latifi, would be leaving the team at the end of the 2022 season. Have Williams made the correct choice? Will Latifi get a chance with another team? Who will replace him? There's currently so many questions in regards to a driver who has achieved so little in Formula One and motorsport as a whole.

Latifi was first introduced into the world of Formula One in 2016 after signing as a test driver with the then Renault F1 Team, now known as Alpine. By 2018 he had transferred to Force India (now Aston Martin) to take on their role as test and reserve driver before joining the Williams family in a similar role in 2019, the same year he finished runner up to Nyck de Vries in Formula Two. Latifi would then go on to make his Formula One race debut in 2020. A relatively turbulent F1 career, Latifi has, as of September 2022, only scored 7 career points with all 7 being scored in 2021. Of course, the number of points a driver has isn't a true representation of what they are capable of, but unfortunatley for Latifi, being apart of a "back marker" team with team mates who constantly out-qualify and out-race him, it's not a very good look.

(The following may include my own views and opinions.)

As a driver with money and a 2nd place finish in Formula 2, it's understandable why Latifi, or Goatifi as he's become to be known in the world of social media, would have been an attractive option for Williams. But after many crashes, incidents and "slow" driving, like many before him, his F1 career just hasn't worked out. After being out-qualified and out-raced by Nyck de Vries, a driver making his F1 debut with Williams in Monza 2022, Williams had, in my opinion, no choice but to end ties with Latifi for 2023. F1 is a cut-throat world and Latifi's chances ran out. I hate to say it so bluntly but he's just not good enough for the pinnacle of motorsport. However, Latifi's F1 career won't be forgotten in a hurry thanks to his late race crash at the controversial 2021 Abu Dhabi GP.

Moving on, Latifi's chances at racing in Formula One again are probably, I would think, very slim. As mentioned before, he is a driver with money, so I expect we haven't seen the last of the Canadian in the sport. Maybe he'll go back to being a reserve/test driver or maybe he'll search for success elsewhere. Who knows?

Then there is the speculation of who could replace Latifi at Williams. Current team mate; Alex Albon; has already been confirmed for 2023, so who will join him?

There's plenty of drivers on the market for 2023. The likes of Daniel Ricciardo and Mick Schumacher are looking at their options and then, despite his connection with many other teams, there's Nyck de Vries. Williams also have their driver academy with the likes of Logan Sargeant and Jamie Chadwick driving under the team's name. It's fair to say that Williams have a pretty difficult decision on their hands. I'm not envious.

But back to Latifi, it's such a shame seeing a driver's hopes and dreams come crashing down like this but sometimes it just doesn't work out. It's happened to many a driver before and it will happen to many a driver after. This is Formula One, after all.

The F1 2023 Race Calendar Is Here! And, This Is What I Think Of It!

The calendar for the 2023 F1 season has arrived, which means it's time to start planning those all important F1 trips for the next year. The calendar, which you can check out above, looks a little more packed than usual. This is because the FIA has planned a record breaking twenty-four races for 2023. Twenty-four! I'm pretty sure just a few seasons ago they were struggling to get past twenty, but here we are.

From what I have seen and read on social media, the calendar has been met with some very mixed reviews. Some like it, they think it's ok, but most people have an issue one way or another. Unfortunately for me, I can't say I'm overly stoked. Keep on reading to find out why.

All views below are my own and are not intended to upset anyone.

I usually get quite excited at the release of the following season's calendar. I sit for hours planning what races I want to go to and whether I can afford them. (Looking at you Silverstone.) But it's tiring just looking at the twenty-four races that have been crammed in to such a small time phrase. And that's my main concern. For me, as a fan, twenty-four races should be an exciting prospect. It is, but, you can't help but feel for the people who work and travel with the F1 circus. Whether you're a driver, mechanic/engineer, team personnel, F1 personnel, etc, it must be a big kick in the guts to see that calendar. Everyone has a personal life and as far as I'm concerned, it's all about how much money F1 can make.

I suppose this fits in with how the calendar is laid out. There seems to be absolutely zero logic put in to this. For example, Azerbaijan is on the 30th April. Just a week later it's across the pond to the States for the Miami GP. Why? Why not pair Azerbaijan with something closer to home? Or, here's an idea. Start the season one side of the world and make your way across ending the season on the other. It's all logistics at the end of the day. If F1 and the FIA are serious about becoming Net Zero Carbon by 2030 then this is something major that needs looking at.

Moving on, I'm not overly thrilled with the amount of street circuits. If you know me or follow my F1 social medias then you may know I despise the things. Personally, I'm more of an "old-school race track" kinda gal so you can imagine my fury with the rumours that F1 was to bin off the likes of Spa. What also grinds my gears, (pun intended), is that there are plenty of decent tracks out there not being used. You've got the likes of Istanbul, Sepang, Hockenheim and Nurburgring just sitting there but instead we get Saudi Arabia, Miami and Las Vegas. I mean, F1 has never raced at Las Vegas and I'm already dreading it. However, I'm happy to see that Monaco survived the cull. Yes it's a street circuit but Monaco is F1. I'll also add that I can cope with Singapore and Azerbaijan, in case you're wondering.

It's not all negative, however! There are still plenty of decent tracks on the calendar that should provide some excellent racing and also Spa, my favourite track, survives another year! Plus, if you think of it with a positive mind set, we get twenty-four races!

I'm probably going to contradict myself now by saying maybe I shouldn't be too judgmental just yet. Maybe we need to let the season play out before all the negativity. Twenty-four races between March and November, plus a couple weeks off in August, may work. Travelling back and forth across the world numerous times may work. I can't say I'm confident but as a fan sat on my sofa I have nothing to complain about.

Formula Two: Where's The Progression?

With the 2022 Formula One season entering it's latter stages, there are still a handful of seats available for 2023, and, of course as per usual, there are plenty of rumours surrounding who will be the lucky drivers to fill these. Current rumours include Alpha Tauri's driver; Pierre Gasly, making the move to Alpine and Nyck de Vries, who stood in for Alexander Albon down at Williams for the 2022 Italian Grand Prix weekend, is supposedly replacing Gasly at Alpha Tauri. Zhou Guanyu will most likely continue with Alfa Romeo and Haas seem to be heading down the "ex-Formula One" driver route. But what about the drivers in Formula Two? Isn't the junior series the breeding ground of F1? Why is it that a very small handful of drivers are being looked at as potential future F1 drivers? Let's take a look.

First of all I should clarify that not every Formula One driver comes from Formula Two. In fact, Formula Two is one of many pathways into the world of F1. It is, however, due to the convenience of being the main support series of F1, the most logical and easiest way into the pinnacle of motorsport. It is not a requirement.

Formula One has seen it's fair share of drivers graduating from Formula Two (or GP2, as it was once known). Over 40 Formula Two drivers have made the jump including Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg, Romain Grosjean, George Russell, Mick Schumacher, to name a few. Not all of these 40+ drivers have been GP2/Formula 2 champions. Some have had the talent, some have been affiliated with F1 junior team programmes, such as the Red Bull Junior Team, and some have, dare I say it, had the money to progress. Something which the lower end F1 teams find extremely attractive. Despite these attributes, something every future F1 driver needs is a Super License. This is what stops many drivers progressing from F2 to F1.

But, how does a driver get a Super License?

A driver needs 40 or more points to their name and be over the age of 18 to qualify for a Super License. These points are awarded based on finishing positions in a championship and the amount of points awarded are based on the popularity of that series. For example, this year's Formula 2 championship was won by Felipe Drugovich. A driver that wasn't affiliated to a single F1 team. His championship win gave him 40 points, enough for a license but experience in an F1 car is also a factor and unfortunately for the Brazilian, that is what he lacked. However, it wasn't long before F1 teams were trying to snap Drugovich up. He will be reserve driver for Aston Martin in 2023 and will get an outing with the team at this years F1 season finale in Abu Dhabi.

Talking of experience, a lot of drivers that currently race in Formula Two are affiliated to Formula One teams via their junior teams. This year eleven drivers out of a field of what will be twenty-seven drivers in total, are racing under an F1 junior team. Whether this be with Mercedes, Red Bull, Alpine or Williams etc, they are getting the experience not just in the car but also behind the scenes.

Junior teams are, in my own opinion, the BEST way for a driver to enter Formula One. Quite often, they work but sometimes they don't. It's all about availability at the time. Also, it can be tough for the driver. Being contracted to a junior team most likely blocks the path to any available seats or opportunities with other teams, although in recent years this has been relaxed.

But let's look at Red Bull. If rumours are to be believed, they will have an opening at their sister F1 team, Alpha Tauri, in 2023. This seat may be filled by Nyck de Vries; a non-Red Bull driver. Why are Red Bull looking elsewhere when they have plenty of drivers in Formula Two? I think this is pretty simple to answer. None of the Red Bull Junior Team have been performing as expected. Nyck has come into F1 and impressed on debut. They think Nyck is their best option for progression. Again, it's back to talent and experience.

Overall, I think Formula Two has been a successful way for drivers to get into F1. Of course, not everyone will get a chance. There are only 20 seats after all. But it's the perfect place for a driver to showcase their talent and the progression is there for sure. It's all about having the talent and being in the right place at the right time. Also, having a few £££ also helps.