Nicholas Latifi
Nicholas Daniel Latifi is an Iranian-Canadian racing driver under contract to race for Williams in the 2020 Formula One World Championship. He made his Formula One debut at the 2020 Austrian Grand Prix.
Career
Karting
Latifi began his karting career in 2009, at the relatively late age of 13. In 2010, he finished as the runner-up in the Rotax Junior class of the Canadian National Karting Championship. Latifi continued competing in Canadian and American karting series until 2012, when he won the Florida Winter Tour championship in the Rotax DD2 class. He later made an appearance in the Shifter ROK class of the Florida Winter Tour in 2015, competing against former Formula One drivers Rubens Barrichello and Nelson Piquet Jr.Formula 3
Latifi's single-seater debut came in the 2012 Italian Formula Three Championship with BVM. He finished the season in 7th place, having taken one win at the Vallelunga Circuit and three further podium finishes. At the start of the following year, Latifi raced in the 2013 Toyota Racing Series, finishing 9th in the championship with a best finish of 6th at Timaru. Latifi then took part in a full season of the FIA Formula 3 European Championship, driving for Carlin. He ended the season in 15th place, his best finishes being two 5th places at Silverstone and the Red Bull Ring. During his European Formula 3 campaign, Latifi also raced in the British Formula 3 International Series, finishing 5th and taking two pole positions along with a podium finish at Brands Hatch. Additionally, he competed in the 2013 Masters of Formula 3 race at Zandvoort, qualifying 8th and finishing 7th.Latifi continued racing in European Formula 3 in 2014, moving to Prema Powerteam alongside future Formula One competitor Esteban Ocon. Latifi finished 10th in the championship after missing the final round to compete in Formula Renault 3.5, with his best finish being 2nd place at Silverstone. In November 2014 he made his only appearance at the Macau Grand Prix, qualifying 9th, finishing 7th in the qualifying race and then taking 5th place in the main race.
Formula Renault 3.5
Latifi competed in the final three rounds of the 2014 Formula Renault 3.5 Series for Tech 1 Racing, taking 2nd place in the final race at Jerez. He then moved to Arden Motorsport and competed in a full season in 2015. He finished the season in 11th place, taking one fastest lap. His best finishes were two 4th places at Spa-Francorchamps and at the Red Bull Ring.Sports car racing
Latifi competed in the 2012 Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge for Rehagen Racing, driving a Ford Mustang GT. In 2014, he made an appearance in the Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain driving for Redline Racing at Rockingham. He retired from the first round but scored a 4th-place finish in the second round. He had a longer campaign in 2015, competing in four of the eight rounds and taking 2nd place in the first race at Oulton Park.GP2 Series
Latifi made his debut in the GP2 series at the 2014 Yas Marina round where he replace Daniel Abt at Hilmer Motorsport. He finished the races in 22nd and 17th. In 2015, Latifi competed in four selected rounds with MP Motorsport, with a best finish of 11th in Bahrain. In 2016, he secured a full-time seat in the series at DAMS alongside Alex Lynn. Latifi's best finish of the season came at the first race in Barcelona, where he finished 2nd. He then went on to finish 7th in the sprint race. Despite this strong start, only two more points finishes came during the season; 10th place at the Red Bull Ring and 9th place at Yas Marina. Latifi ended the season in 16th place in the championship with 23 points, ten places and 101 points behind teammate Lynn.Formula 2 Championship
The GP2 Series was re-branded as the Formula 2 Championship for 2017, and Latifi retained his seat at DAMS, now alongside Oliver Rowland. 2017 proved to be a far more successful year for Latifi. He took his first GP2/F2 podium at the sprint race in Barcelona, finishing 3rd as well as recording the fastest lap. Two more 3rd places came in Baku, before Latifi achieved a 2nd-place finish in the feature race at the Red Bull Ring. He took victory in the sprint race at Silverstone, marking his first race win in any racing series since 2012. 2nd and 3rd place finishes came in the feature races at the Hungaroring and at Monza respectively, in which Latifi set both fastest laps. He finished 2nd at the sprint race in Jerez, before ending the season with 3rd place and the fastest lap in the final round at Yas Marina. Latifi ended the season in 5th place with 178 points, two places and 13 points behind teammate Rowland.He continued with DAMS in 2018, now partnering future Formula One competitor Alexander Albon in a season that proved less successful than 2017. Latifi took his first podium of the season at Baku with 3rd place in the sprint race. He achieved the second victory of his Formula 2 career at Spa-Francorchamps, winning the sprint race from reverse-grid pole and setting the fastest lap. He later took 2nd place at the feature race in Sochi. Latifi ended the season in 9th place with 91 points, six places and 121 points behind teammate Albon.
Latifi remained at DAMS for the fourth consecutive season in 2019, alongside Sérgio Sette Câmara. A strong start to the season saw Latifi take three victories in the first five races, winning the feature races in Bahrain and Barcelona and the sprint race in Baku. After the first three rounds, Latifi led the championship, 30 points clear of 3rd-placed Nyck de Vries. However, a poor showing at the fourth round in Monaco, during which Latifi finished the races in 12th and 10th, saw de Vries close the gap to just one point. Latifi would not finish on the podium again until the seventh round at Silverstone, in which he finished the feature race 2nd. By this point, de Vries had extended his championship lead to 27 points. Latifi scored his final victory of the season at the feature race of the next round in Hungary, before failing to score at Monza, and then taking two 2nd-place finishes at Sochi and Yas Marina. He ended the season as the championship runner-up to de Vries, two places and 10 points ahead of teammate Sette Câmara, achieving four wins, four other podium finishes and four fastest laps.
Formula One
Latifi was signed as Renault's new test driver for the 2016 season. He drove a Formula One car for the first time in a test in May of that year, completing 140 laps at Silverstone in the Renault-powered Lotus E20. His first test in an in-use Formula One car came on one year later at the post-race test at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, driving the Renault R.S.17 and completing 141 laps. He later tested again for the team at the Hungaroring.Latifi was announced as a Force India test and reserve driver for the 2018 season. He made his Grand Prix weekend debut with the team during the first practice session of his home race in Canada, before adding four more FP1 appearances during the season.
For the 2019 season Latifi joined Williams as a test and reserve driver. He participated in six FP1 sessions that year.
Williams (2020)
For the 2020 season Latifi is racing for Williams, filling the seat vacated by Robert Kubica. He partners former competitor and 2018 Formula 2 champion George Russell. Latifi is racing under an American license in 2020 after Canada's national sporting authority resigned from the FIA. However, Latifi is still officially recognised as Canadian. Latifi's race number is 6.Latifi was due to make his Formula One debut at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix. He was entered into the race, however, it was later cancelled in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. His debut came at the 2020 Austrian Grand Prix where he qualified last on the grid in 20th, but finished the race in 11th place after nine other cars retired.
Personal life
Latifi is the son of Michael Latifi, an Iranian-Canadian businessman who is the CEO of Sofina Foods, Inc. and also owns a British Virgin Islands company Nidala. Michael Latifi invested through Nidala £200 million in the McLaren Group.Racing record
Career summary
Complete FIA Formula 3 European Championship results
| Year | Entrant | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | DC | Points |
| 2013 | Carlin | Volkswagen | MNZ 1 15 | MNZ 2 16 | MNZ 3 Ret | SIL 1 5 | SIL 2 Ret | SIL 3 10 | HOC 1 23 | HOC 2 22 | HOC 3 15 | BRH 1 Ret | BRH 2 27 | BRH 3 7 | RBR 1 5 | RBR 2 Ret | RBR 3 7 | NOR 1 Ret | NOR 2 19 | NOR 3 Ret | NÜR 1 19 | NÜR 2 17 | NÜR 3 21 | ZAN 1 8 | ZAN 2 11 | ZAN 3 Ret | VAL 1 17 | VAL 2 11 | VAL 3 Ret | HOC 1 12 | HOC 2 13 | HOC 3 Ret | 15th | 45 | |||
| 2014 | Prema Powerteam | Mercedes | SIL 1 6 | SIL 2 2 | SIL 3 4 | HOC 1 Ret | HOC 2 6 | HOC 3 Ret | PAU 1 Ret | PAU 2 17† | PAU 3 Ret | HUN 1 22 | HUN 2 9 | HUN 3 10 | SPA 1 13 | SPA 2 7 | SPA 3 5 | NOR 1 4 | NOR 2 8 | NOR 3 Ret | MSC 1 7 | MSC 2 8 | MSC 3 17† | RBR 1 Ret | RBR 2 8 | RBR 3 4 | NÜR 1 13 | NÜR 2 10 | NÜR 3 Ret | IMO 1 Ret | IMO 2 6 | IMO 3 4 | HOC 1 DNP | HOC 2 DNP | HOC 3 DNP | 10th | 128 |
† Driver did not finish the race, but was classified as he completed over 90% of the race distance.
Complete Formula Renault 3.5 Series results
| Year | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | Pos | Points |
| 2014 | Tech 1 Racing | MNZ 1 | MNZ 2 | ALC 1 | ALC 2 | MON 1 | SPA 1 | SPA 2 | MSC 1 | MSC 2 | NÜR 1 | NÜR 2 | HUN 1 Ret | HUN 2 18 | LEC 1 16 | LEC 2 9 | JER 1 16 | JER 2 2 | 20th | 20 |
| 2015 | Arden Motorsport | ALC 1 8 | ALC 2 14 | MON 1 Ret | SPA 1 4 | SPA 2 13 | HUN 1 Ret | HUN 2 17 | RBR 1 4 | RBR 2 Ret | SIL 1 8 | SIL 2 5 | NÜR 1 Ret | NÜR 2 Ret | BUG 1 Ret | BUG 2 7 | JER 1 7 | JER 2 10 | 11th | 55 |
Complete Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain results
| Year | Team | Class | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | DC | Points |
| 2014 | Redline Racing | BHI 1 | BHI 2 | DON 1 | DON 2 | THR 1 | THR 2 | SAR | CRO 1 | CRO 2 | SNE 1 | SNE 2 | KNO 1 | KNO 2 | ROC 1 Ret | ROC 2 4 | SIL 1 | SIL 2 | BHGP 1 | BHGP 2 | 24th | 14 | |
| 2015 | Samsung SUHD TV Racing | BHI 1 4 | BHI 2 7 | SPA 1 11 | SPA 2 7 | OUL 1 2 | OUL 2 16 | CRO 1 6 | CRO 2 9 | SNE 1 | SNE 2 | KNO 1 | KNO 2 | SIL 1 | SIL 2 | BHGP 1 | BHGP 2 | 11th | 72 |
Complete GP2 Series results
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | Pos | Points |
| 2014 | Hilmer Motorsport | BHR FEA | BHR SPR | CAT FEA | CAT SPR | MON FEA | MON SPR | RBR FEA | RBR SPR | SIL FEA | SIL SPR | HOC FEA | HOC SPR | HUN FEA | HUN SPR | SPA FEA | SPA SPR | MNZ FEA | MNZ SPR | SOC FEA | SOC SPR | YMC FEA 22 | YMC SPR 17 | 32nd | 0 |
| 2015 | MP Motorsport | BHR FEA | BHR SPR | CAT FEA | CAT SPR | MON FEA | MON SPR | RBR FEA | RBR SPR | SIL FEA | SIL SPR | HUN FEA 15 | HUN SPR 14 | SPA FEA | SPA SPR | MNZ FEA | MNZ SPR | SOC FEA 18 | SOC SPR 14 | BHR FEA 15 | BHR SPR 11 | YMC FEA Ret | YMC SPR C | 27th | 0 |
| 2016 | DAMS | CAT FEA 2 | CAT SPR 7 | MON FEA Ret | MON SPR Ret | BAK FEA Ret | BAK SPR 13 | RBR FEA 10 | RBR SPR Ret | SIL FEA 11 | SIL SPR 10 | HUN FEA 16 | HUN SPR 12 | HOC FEA 14 | HOC SPR 17 | SPA FEA 13 | SPA SPR 9 | MNZ FEA 16 | MNZ SPR 15 | SEP FEA 14 | SEP SPR 10 | YMC FEA 9 | YMC SPR 12 | 16th | 23 |
Complete Formula 2 Championship results
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | DC | Points |
| DAMS | BHR FEA 11 | BHR SPR 4 | CAT FEA 6 | CAT SPR 3 | MON FEA Ret | MON SPR 13 | BAK FEA 3 | BAK SPR 3 | RBR FEA 2 | RBR SPR 8 | SIL FEA 8 | SIL SPR 1 | HUN FEA 2 | HUN SPR 6 | SPA FEA DNS | SPA SPR 9 | MNZ FEA 3 | MNZ SPR 16 | JER FEA 4 | JER SPR 2 | YMC FEA 5 | YMC SPR 3 | 5th | 178 | |||
| DAMS | BHR FEA 11 | BHR SPR 10 | BAK FEA 5 | BAK SPR 3 | CAT FEA 14 | CAT SPR 8 | MON FEA 9 | MON SPR 8 | LEC FEA 7 | LEC SPR 8 | RBR FEA 11 | RBR SPR 8 | SIL FEA 17 | SIL SPR 16 | HUN FEA Ret | HUN SPR 16 | SPA FEA 8 | SPA SPR 1 | MNZ FEA 5 | MNZ SPR 4 | SOC FEA 2 | SOC SPR Ret | YMC FEA Ret | YMC SPR 15 | 9th | 91 | |
| DAMS | BHR FEA 1 | BHR SPR 3 | BAK FEA 4 | BAK SPR 1 | CAT FEA 1 | CAT SPR 6 | MON FEA 12 | MON SPR 10 | LEC FEA 5 | LEC SPR 6 | RBR FEA 9 | RBR SPR 6 | SIL FEA 2 | SIL SPR 5 | HUN FEA 1 | HUN SPR 7 | SPA FEA C | SPA SPR C | MNZ FEA 13 | MNZ SPR 10 | SOC FEA 2 | SOC SPR 4 | YMC FEA 7 | YMC SPR 2 | 2nd | 214 |
Complete Formula One results
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | Points | |
| Sahara Force India F1 Team | Force India VJM11 | Mercedes M09 EQ Power+ 1.6 V6 t | AUS | BHR | CHN | AZE | ESP | MON | CAN TD | FRA | AUT | GBR | GER TD | HUN | – | – | ||||||||||
| Racing Point Force India F1 Team | Force India VJM11 | Mercedes M09 EQ Power+ 1.6 V6 t | BEL | ITA | SIN | RUS TD | JPN | USA TD | MEX TD | BRA TD | ABU | – | – | |||||||||||||
| ROKiT Williams Racing | Williams FW42 | Mercedes M10 EQ Power+ 1.6 V6 t | AUS | BHR | CHN | AZE | ESP | MON | CAN TD | FRA TD | AUT | GBR | GER | HUN | BEL TD | ITA | SIN | RUS | JPN | MEX TD | USA TD | BRA TD | ABU | – | – | |
| Williams Racing | Williams FW43 | Mercedes F1 M11 EQ Performance 1.6 V6 t | AUT 11 | STY 17 | HUN 19 | GBR | 70A | ESP | BEL | ITA | TUS | RUS | EIF | POR | EMI | 18th* | 0* |
– Was entered as third driver, but decision was reversed ahead of the session.