Nicholas Latifi finally shed his long-held status as the only full-time 2022 Formula 1 driver without a points finish, courtesy of his drive from 19th to ninth at the Japanese Grand Prix.
But with his well-timed switch to inters the main factor behind his vault up the order, was it simply a stroke of luck that handed the Williams driver points?
Q3 at a rainy Silverstone and topping a wet practice at the Hungaroring aside, Latifi had barely featured in the top 10 all season and has been convincingly beaten by his team-mate Alex Albon.
It led to Williams announcing before the Japanese GP that it would release Latifi at the end of 2022, a decision that will likely bring an end to his F1 career.
Latifi responded in style at Suzuka, aided by his decision to be – along with first-lap spinner Sebastian Vettel – the first to switch to the intermediate tyres following the race restart.
Vettel just squeezed ahead of Latifi with a faster pitstop, but the duo still vaulted from the back of the order into the top 10 when other drivers pit in the following laps.
Latifi emerged in net eighth place, and would be ultimately overtaken by former team-mate George Russell’s Mercedes. He was also passed by Fernando Alonso, but this was only after Alonso dropped behind by coming in for an extra pitstop for another set of inters.
This left Latifi in ninth place with Lando Norris behind him. The McLaren driver closed the gap on the Williams, but Latifi kept a large enough buffer to hold ninth place until the chequered flag without facing the drag race to the line that Vettel had with Alonso.
“Really happy with that, it was really tough conditions at the end,” Latifi said after the race.
“I could feel on the safety car formation lap [before the restart] that it was going to be inters conditions.
“I made the call right away to get on them as soon as possible. That was crucial in getting those points, having a bit of free air.
“Very difficult to manage at the end, front tyres were gone already eight laps into the stint. Just hanging on, trying to bring it home. To get points was a nice reward for everyone.”
Latifi was under no illusions that this one race would’ve changed anything about his future even if Williams’ decision to let him go hadn’t been already made.
“It’s about consistency, not one good result,” Latifi said of Williams’ choice.
“It’s a personal boost for me, coming to the end of the season and my time with the team. Just some more points for the team which is always great. But beyond that, nothing much more.”
The strategy was evidently the right one with Vettel and Latifi finishing sixth and ninth respectively, having run at the back of the field when the race restarted.
But Latifi held his own well when in a top 10 position in tricky conditions in a similar fashion to his gritty drive to seventh place at the 2021 Hungarian GP that helped Williams end a two-year points drought.
It’s arguably been Latifi’s greatest strength in the last two years in particular – getting the strategy calls right in mixed conditions and delivering consistent laptimes while in a strong position.
Yes, luck played its part but Latifi got the strategy call bang on and he had to properly grasp the opportunity, something he did exceptionally well – and for that, the result is well-deserved.
His Suzuka performance is not one that should somehow convince Williams to reverse its 2023 decision nor one that can lift Latifi from his status as F1 2022’s worst driver.
But it is a stark reminder that even the slowest driver in the field has plenty of merit and is capable of delivering a standout performance when the stars align.
Scott Mitchell-Malm’s verdict
“A little bit of both,” Scott Mitchell-Malm said when asked on this week’s The Race F1 Podcast if Latifi’s ninth place finish was simply down to luck or a genuine high point.
“His pace was good when he went onto the intermediates, for a while, there was a point where Norris couldn’t match his pace for a point in the McLaren.
“He was lucky in the sense that he gained positions for a few different reasons. Albon and [Pierre] Gasly had problems on the opening lap, [Carlos] Sainz crashed out. But he didn’t put a foot wrong, made a smart call.
“I’m pleased for him, this was a relatively good weekend by his standards.
“Only a couple of tenths off Albon in qualifying and considering he doesn’t know the track, and had a confidence-bruising Friday with his silly little error where he turned down the wrong part of the circuit and ended up on an escape road.
“He gelled with this circuit quite nicely and maybe that translated into the performance we saw on Sunday.
“I don’t think he’s as bad a driver as he’s looked at times this year. I’m pleased he’s ended that anomaly where was he was the only full-time driver without a point.”
