Williams Racing F1 team principal Jost Capito believes the negative reaction to Nicholas Latifi’s Abu Dhabi crash has affected his driving this season.
Nicholas Latifi was the subject of a controversial accidental attack at the end of the season. His late crash brought out the safety car and dramatically changed the title race.
Despite its involuntary nature, some social media users have consistently sent Nicholas Latifi online death threats. Nicholas Latifi tightened security and walked away from social media platforms as abuse worsened.
Williams F1 team principal Jost Kapit said he felt it was important not to push him too hard as the team felt slander would only make things worse.
“We had to keep giving him confidence,” Jost Kapit told the High Performance podcast.
“We told him ‘everything was fine’. Everything was fine, but it was the end of the season so it was very difficult to improve them. They all went on vacation. They said I had to take a vacation .”
“I mean, he wasn’t there every day. Also, he knew what was going on, so he didn’t interfere much. I knew he had disabled social media, but if I think if I had interfered too much, I would have made the situation even worse.”
“It’s something everyone has to overcome on their own. He was absolutely certain he had done nothing wrong and was fully aware of our support.”
“Obviously the accident shouldn’t have happened, but when you race accidents can happen. And we never blame the drivers. It can happen. We want to have an accident. Otherwise I have to stay at home.”
Despite support from the Williams F1 team, Nicholas Latifi’s form has only deteriorated this season and there is a sincere suspicion that he could be replaced at the end of the season. Jost Kapito said he believed his reaction to the crash affected his driving.
“It was very difficult. I think it’s difficult for everyone. I don’t think anyone who hasn’t been through it knows what it feels like,” Jost Kapito said.
“Even when I turn off social media, I’m still in touch with other people watching it, and it continues, and I can’t walk away from it.”
“I think that’s also part of why it took him so long during the season to find himself competitive. I’m sure it affected his drive after that. was produced, it would have had a huge impact on my driving and I’m absolutely sure of it.”
“So it’s understandable. That’s why we gave him confidence and supported him all season. We knew he would come back.”
But Nicholas Latifi will almost certainly lose his F1 seat at Williams this season. Nick de Vries, who impressed on his F1 debut at Monza, and trainer driver Logan Sargent are among the candidates to replace him.
Category: F1 / williams / Nicholas Latifi
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