Nicholas Latifi facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Nicholas Latifi
Latifi at the 2022 Singapore Grand Prix
Born	Nicholas Daniel Latifi (1995-06-29) 29 June 1995 (age 30) Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Parent(s)	Michael Latifi (father)
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	Canadian
Active years	2020–2022
Teams	Williams
Car number	6
Entries	61 (61 starts)
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podiums	0
Career points	9
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	0
First entry	2020 Austrian Grand Prix
Last entry	2022 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Previous series
2017–2019 2014–2016 2014–2015 2014–2015 2013–2014 2013 2013 2012	FIA Formula 2 GP2 Series Formula Renault 3.5 Porsche Carrera Cup GB FIA F3 European Toyota Racing Series British F3 Italian F3

Nicholas Daniel Latifi (born 29 June 1995) is a Canadian former racing driver. He competed in Formula One, the highest class of international racing, from 2020 to 2022.

Nicholas was born in Montreal and grew up in Toronto. He is the son of Michael Latifi, a successful Canadian businessman. Nicholas started his racing journey in 2012, moving from karting to junior racing series. He achieved great success in the FIA Formula 2 Championship, finishing second in 2019.

Latifi also worked as a test driver for Formula One teams like Renault and Force India. In 2020, he joined the Williams team as a full-time driver. He scored his first Formula One points in 2021 at the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix. His Formula One career ended in 2022.

About Nicholas Latifi

Nicholas Daniel Latifi was born on June 29, 1995, in Montreal, Quebec. He spent his childhood in North York, Toronto. His father, Michael Latifi, is a well-known Iranian-Canadian businessman. Nicholas's mother, Marilena Latifi, is Italian-Canadian. He has three siblings.

Nicholas went to Crescent School and finished in 2013. Because of his busy racing schedule, he studied mostly from home during high school. In 2021, his school honored him on their Alumni Wall of Honour.

In 2023, Latifi announced that he was taking a break from racing. He decided to study for a business degree (an MBA) at the London Business School. He mentioned that he did not expect to race in F1 again. However, he was open to trying other types of motorsport later on.

His car number, 6, is a nod to a popular nickname for his hometown, Toronto.

Nicholas's Junior Racing Career

Nicholas Latifi started racing later than many drivers. He began karting at age 13. He spent four years in karting and eight years in junior racing series. This meant he joined Formula One at 24, which he said was "definitely on the older side."

Karting Adventures

Latifi began his karting career in 2009. In 2010, he was the runner-up in a Canadian karting championship. He kept racing in Canadian and American karting until 2012. That year, he won the Florida Winter Tour championship in the Rotax DD2 class. He even raced against former Formula One drivers Rubens Barrichello and Nelson Piquet Jr. in 2015.

Formula Three and Renault 3.5

Latifi racing in the 2013 European Formula 3 Championship

Latifi spent four years competing in different European Formula Three races. He first raced a single-seater car in 2012 in the 2012 Italian Formula Three Championship. He finished seventh and earned one win and four podiums (top three finishes).

In 2013, he raced in the Toyota Racing Series. He also competed in the FIA Formula 3 European Championship and the British Formula 3 International Series. He finished fifth in the British series and got a podium at Brands Hatch.

Latifi racing for Prema Powerteam at Spa in the 2014 European Formula 3 Championship

The year 2014 was very busy for Latifi. He raced in 53 races across six different competitions. In his second European F3 season, he finished 10th. He even got a second-place finish at Silverstone. He also competed in Formula Renault 3.5, where he finished second in the final race. In November, he raced in the 2014 Macau Grand Prix, finishing fifth.

In 2015, Latifi joined Formula Renault 3.5 full-time. He finished 11th, with his best results being two fourth-place finishes.

GP2 and FIA Formula 2

Latifi in the 2016 GP2 Series

From 2016 to 2020, Latifi spent four full seasons in the GP2 Series and its new version, FIA Formula 2. He raced for the DAMS team in all these seasons. He also made a few appearances in 2014 and 2015.

Early GP2 Races (2014–2016)

Latifi joined GP2 for two races in 2014. In 2015, he competed in eight races. In 2016, Latifi raced full-time with DAMS. It was a tough season, but he did get one podium finish at the first race in Barcelona.

First Wins (2017–2018)

The series changed its name to the FIA Formula 2 Championship in 2017. Latifi earned his first F2 race win at the Silverstone sprint race. He started third, took the lead, and won the race. He finished fifth in the championship that year, with one win and nine podiums in 22 races.

Latifi racing in Austria in the 2018 Formula 2 Championship.

In 2018, a new F2 car was introduced. Latifi found it hard to get used to the new car. He said he had to "change pretty much everything I know about driving." Despite some challenges, he scored three podiums and one win at Spa-Francorchamps. He finished the season in ninth place. At the end of the year, Latifi joined the Williams Driver Academy.

Runner-up Season (2019)

Latifi at the 2019 Spielberg Formula 2 round in Austria

In 2019, Latifi had a fantastic start and fought for the F2 title. He won the first race at Sakhir and led the championship after the second race in Baku, where he also won. He won again at Barcelona.

He lost the lead to Nyck de Vries after some difficult races. However, he won another race in Hungary. A cancelled race weekend and a tough race at Monza ended his title hopes.

Before the final race, Williams announced he would join their Formula One team for 2020. Latifi finished the 2019 season in second place with four wins and eight podiums. His team, DAMS, also won its first GP2/F2 team title since 2014.

Formula One Career

Latifi tested for Renault in 2016 and 2017. In May 2016, he drove a Formula One car for the first time at Silverstone. In 2017, he tested the Renault car at Barcelona and the Hungaroring.

In 2018, Latifi became a reserve and test driver for Force India. He participated in his first F1 race weekend practice session in Montreal. He also joined several other F1 practice sessions and tested the Force India car twice.

After joining the Williams Driver Academy, Latifi became Williams' test and reserve driver for 2019. He tested for Williams at Sakhir and participated in six practice sessions during the season.

Williams Team (2020–2022)

Financial Challenges

Williams changed their car design for 2020. The original design (left, with Latifi during testing) was updated to feature Latifi's sponsor, Sofina Foods, more prominently.

When Latifi joined the Williams team in 2020, the team was facing financial difficulties. News reports suggested that Latifi's arrival brought significant sponsorship money from his family's businesses, like Sofina Foods. Latifi, however, explained that while racing is expensive, his F2 performance showed he deserved to be in Formula One.

The COVID-19 pandemic made the team's financial problems worse. Williams ended its sponsorship deal with ROKiT. Nicholas's father, Michael Latifi, helped the team by working with HSBC to manage Williams' debts, providing the team with a large amount of money.

2020 Season

Williams promoted Latifi to their main team for 2020. He replaced Robert Kubica and raced alongside his former Formula 2 rival, George Russell.

Latifi had a challenging first season. The Williams car was not very competitive, and the team did not score any points all year. He made his race debut at the 2020 Austrian Grand Prix. Despite a crash in practice, he finished 11th, benefiting from many other cars retiring. He often struggled in qualifying sessions.

Latifi came close to scoring points several times. At the 2020 Italian Grand Prix, he recovered from last place to finish 11th. He also finished 11th at the 2020 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. Latifi ended his first season in 21st place in the Drivers' Championship.

2021 Season

Latifi at the 2021 Austrian Grand Prix

Williams kept Latifi and Russell for the 2021 season. At the 2021 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, Latifi achieved his best qualifying position, starting 14th. However, he had to retire from the race after a collision. For his first Monaco Grand Prix, Latifi wore a special helmet to celebrate Williams' 750th race.

Williams' performance improved during the season. Latifi scored his first Formula One points at the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix. He started 18th but avoided a big crash at the start, moving up to sixth. After a pit stop, he rose to third place for a while and eventually finished eighth. He was later moved up to seventh after another driver was disqualified. This was Williams' first time scoring points with both cars since 2018. Latifi was "super happy" with the result.

Latifi continued to benefit from Williams' better performance. He scored points again at the 2021 Belgian Grand Prix, which was a rain-affected race run mostly under safety car conditions. He also qualified well at the 2021 Dutch Grand Prix and the 2021 Russian Grand Prix.

Latifi played an unexpected role in the final race of the season, the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. This race had a very controversial ending. Latifi crashed on lap 53, causing a safety car. The race director made a debated decision to allow some cars to unlap themselves, which allowed Max Verstappen to get right behind Lewis Hamilton for the final lap. Verstappen, with new tires, then overtook Hamilton to win the championship. After the race, Latifi apologized for the crash and received many threats and hateful messages online. He later spoke out about the "shocking" online abuse, including death threats, and received support from Hamilton and others.

Latifi finished 17th in the Drivers' Championship with seven points.

2022 Season

Latifi at the 2022 British Grand Prix

Latifi stayed with Williams for the 2022 season, racing alongside his former DAMS teammate Alex Albon. Formula One introduced new rules for 2022, and Latifi found it hard to adjust to the new cars. Williams team principal Jost Capito believed the online abuse Latifi received after the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix affected his performance.

In the first race of the year, the 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix, Latifi finished 16th. He had crashes in qualifying and the race at the Jeddah event. He also crashed during the warm-up lap of the Monaco Grand Prix. There were rumors that Latifi might be replaced during the season, but Williams confirmed he would finish the year.

Latifi at the 2022 Austrian Grand Prix; he did not finish the race.

The 2022 British Grand Prix was a highlight for Latifi. He made it to the final qualifying session for the first time and started tenth. He finished 12th in the race. However, other incidents continued. At the 2022 French Grand Prix, he retired after colliding with Kevin Magnussen. At the 2022 Belgian Grand Prix, Latifi spun, which caused Valtteri Bottas to retire.

At the 2022 Italian Grand Prix, Latifi's old F2 rival Nyck de Vries filled in for Albon. De Vries outqualified Latifi and finished ninth, which many saw as a sign that Latifi's time at Williams was ending. Latifi later received a penalty for crashing with Zhou Guanyu at the 2022 Singapore Grand Prix.

Despite the penalty, the 2022 Japanese Grand Prix gave Latifi one last good result. He started last but scored his first points of the season by finishing ninth. This was thanks to a smart decision to switch to intermediate tires during a safety car period. In his final race with Williams, the 2022 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Latifi had to retire due to an electrical problem after an incident with Mick Schumacher.

Latifi finished 20th in the Drivers' Championship with two points. Williams replaced him with Logan Sargeant for 2023. Latifi accepted the decision, saying that racing is "a results-based industry" and he was "very grateful" for his Formula One experience.

Racing Record Summary

Nicholas Latifi competed in various racing series before reaching Formula One. Here is a summary of his career:

Images for kids

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  Latifi at the 2022 Singapore Grand Prix

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  Latifi racing in the 2013 European Formula 3 Championship

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  Latifi racing for Prema Powerteam at Spa in the 2014 European Formula 3 Championship

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  Latifi in the 2016 GP2 Series

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  Latifi racing in Austria in the 2018 Formula 2 Championship.

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  Latifi at the 2019 Spielberg Formula 2 round in Austria

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  Nicholas Latifi during 2020 pre-season testing.

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  George Russell at Mugello in 2020.

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  Latifi at the 2021 Austrian Grand Prix

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  Latifi at the 2022 British Grand Prix

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  Latifi at the 2022 Austrian Grand Prix

See also

In Spanish: Nicholas Latifi para niños