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Williams Racing start a new era in Formula 1 as they retain hot prospect George Russell and Nicholas Latifi in their bid to make it back to the midfield in 2021.
Williams Racing
Williams was founded in 1977 when Frank Williams decided to run his own team, two years later Williams had already won their first Grand Prix in the hands of Clay Regazzoni at Silverstone. The historic team went on to have great success in the coming years picking up several Constructors’ Championships before Nelson Piquet clinched the Drivers’ Championship in 1987.
Nigel Mansell dominated the year in 1991 before Alain Prost joined the team claiming only fourth in the Championship. His successor was the great Ayrton Senna who’s arrival was tragically cut short as the Brazilian died in an accident. It left Damon Hill to lead the team to the Championship before Jacques Villeneuve followed suit a year later.
It was a downward spiral that followed with the only noticeable achievement being Pastor Maldonado’s win at Barcelona in 2012. The team has since fallen to the back of the grid with the Williams family departing the team in 2020. The English team seek a new beginning in 2021 with their eyes set on moving up the grid in the coming years.
George Russell
George Russell was retained by the team for 2021 despite there being speculation that the British starlet could be off to Mercedes. The man from King’s Lynn started his journey to the sport when he dominated GP3 Series claiming four victories and seven podiums as he beat Williams Reserve driver Jack Aitken to the title by 80 points.
A few eyebrows were raised by the fashion that Russell won the title as he was promoted to FIA Formula 2 with ART Grand Prix. It was a year for the talented rookie as the 23-year-old beat fellow Brit Lando Norris to the title after an impressive European stint of the season that clinched the Championship for the ART driver as he won six races and claiming 10 podiums throughout the year.
In 2018, Russell became the Mercedes reserve driver after impressing all year, with an eye for the future. In 2019, he joined the Formula 1 paddock with Williams. The 23-year old came 20th in his debut year before improving to 18th in 2020. Although he has been unable to score a point with Williams, it overshadows his performances which have been immaculate in and out of the car.
Although he was able to show his talent at the Sakhir Grand Prix when he was gifted a Mercedes seat with Lewis Hamilton testing positive for COVID-19, a pit-stop issue as well as a late puncture, robbed the British driver of his maiden F1 victory after dominating the entire race.
Nicholas Latifi
Nicholas Latifi has been retained by Williams in 2021 after a solid debut season in the category last year after replacing Robert Kubica in 2020. The Canadian is someone who started in motorsport later than most at the age of 11 but seems to have always been associated with Formula 1 as he has previously been a part of Renault, Force India and Williams.
The 25-year-old quickly made it through the junior categories until he made it to GP2 in 2016, in his debut year he struggled despite claiming a podium as he finished 16th in the standings. Latifi came back stronger in 2017 as his impressive consistency proved vital picking up nine podiums over the year.
Still, the Canadian failed to find a seat in F1 as he endured a poor season for his standards in 2018, claiming one win and four podiums against some of the most sought after prospects in motorsport. It was 2019 that proved to be a make or break year for the 25-year-old after four seasons in the category.
Despite the grid having significantly less quality in 2019, Latifi staked his claim for a seat in the pinnacle of motorsport when he finished second in the Drivers’ Championship with Nyck De Vries the F2 Champion that year.
Four wins and eight podiums throughout the season was enough for the Montreal-born driver to claim a seat in Formula 1 with Williams in 2019. It proved to be a tough debut year for the Canadian who came last in the standings as he struggled to maximise the performance of the car.
Prediction for the season
This season could be another hard one to endure for all Williams fans, the team have an eye for regulation changes in 2022 which will be a priority, but this season resembles a new start for the team which they will be keen to get off to a good start.
Progression will be made this year as the team slowly climb back up the Constructors’ Standings. Williams will look to finish ninth this year ahead of Haas but unable to cause Alfa Romeo any issues, unlike last year the team will score a point this time around.
It is a huge year for George Russell in his career with a Mercedes seat looking up for grabs in 2022, the Englishman will be keen to continue to show the quality he possesses to ensure that even if he doesn’t get a Mercedes seat, that other teams may become interested. The 23-year-old seems to be getting slowly frustrated with the Williams and is keen to move up the grid.
After an impressive year in 2020, this year will be another step up for Russell who will try to score his first points for Williams. The King’s Lynn-born driver will hope to get points and finish ahead of his teammate and the two Alfa Romeo’s.
Latifi will be closely monitored this year to ensure that the Canadian is making progress for Williams, some argue that he did not deserve to be promoted to Formula 1 and with other options available in 2022, the 25-year old will need to perform to make sure that he is their first choice in 2022.
The Montreal-born driver will make limited progress this year, still noticeably behind teammate Russell. It will be important to monitor Latifi against both of the deputising Haas drivers this season, he should be able to finish 19th in the Drivers’ Championship ahead of Russia’s Nikita Mazepin.
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