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George Russell has tipped Williams team-mate Nicholas Latifi to have “a real good shot” at reaching Q3 for the first time in his Formula 1 career after the Canadian’s strong showing in Friday practice at Imola.
Latifi has struggled in qualifying during his F1 career and been outpaced by Russell in all of the 17 events when they have been team-mates. In his 18 outings he has only escaped Q1 on one occasion – in qualifying 15th at the Hungaroring last year.
He set the 12th-fastest time during FP2 at Imola, lapping 1.272s off pacesetter Valtteri Bottas and 0.356s off Russell, suggesting that just as last year, the Williams is working well at the Italian circuit.
A Williams being a Q3 threat would, in itself, be a surprise given the team’s struggles in Bahrain, but Russell’s suggestion that Latifi could spearhead its challenge is even more unexpected.
“I’m hoping a minimum of Q2,” said Russell of the team’s objectives for qualifying.
“We’ve obviously had a number of Q2 appearances over the last two seasons and we are looking stronger than ever. Certainly, Nicholas is.
“He was a good four tenths ahead of me today and he’s probably got a really good shot of Q3, to be honest. Let’s see what we can do tomorrow, but I’ve got a bit of work to do.”
Latifi has set improving his performance level as a priority for this year, a logical target given his race pace has been more convincing and he often starts the weekends solidly on Friday.
Last season, his average qualifying deficit to Russell in dry conditions qualifying was just over half a second. In Bahrain, he was six tenths slower and was unable to join Russell in Q2.
At the start of the Bahrain GP weekend, Latifi admitted “I was always falling short of what I thought I could deliver over one lap”.
This is something he will need to improve at Imola on Saturday if he is to reach Q2 again – let alone challenge for the top 10.
“It was a very positive day, for the most part it went without any hitches,” said Latifi after practice.
“We were able to get through the run plan quite smoothly and positively. I’m not going to say [I’m] surprised, I was expecting the car to feel much better out there in the morning. It was just better than expected.
“Obviously, you don’t get anything for having a strong showing on Friday. Tomorrow’s afternoon is when it counts, but we are setting ourselves up nicely to have a strong Saturday.”
Both Williams drivers had described the windy conditions in Bahrain as being the worst-case scenario for the team, with high hopes things would improve in Imola.
Friday practice suggests that these hopes were well-placed. But while Q2 does appear possible, a Williams driver in Q3 – especially if it’s Latifi – would be a big surprise.
