Abu Dhabi Scapegoat Nicholas Latifi Gets Emotional on the “Ugly Side” of 2021 Title Aftermath

The 2021 season will go down as the most controversial season in Formula 1 history. Amidst all the heated arguments for the battle of title between the two protagonist, it was Nicholas Latifi who got lashed out by the fans. In Beyond the Grid podcast, the Williams driver opened up about the aftermath of the final race at Abu Dhabi.

The Abu Dhabi Final race could have been 8th world championship title for Hamilton, If the race director Michael Masi would have followed the set protocols of the safety car. It was Nicholas Latifi’s crash which brought in the safety car with 5 laps to go.

The race outcome had shattered not only the silver arrows hope, but had snatched away the sleep of the Canadian driver as well. The Williams driver faced immense abuse and torture on social media. He even received some death threats. In Beyond the Grid podcast, Latifi opened up about the aftermath of the race.

When the interviewer asked the Canadian driver to talk through the aftermath of the Abu Dhabi race, Latifi said, ” You know, obviously incident happened, I was battling with Mick for whatever position we were at for the points. I mean let’s say just that you know the perception of the public. But there’s obviously was that aspect but yeah, I crashed as a driver mistake, as everyone does every now and then and yeah, obviously causes safety car and after with that the race outcome.”

He Further added, “The aftermath, was definitely not the nice one, and again I’ve spoken about it, I kind of wrote about it in my statement. Again, that’s just the ugly side of the media.”  

READ MORE: Gory Aftermath of Abu Dhabi Crash Blamed as the Root Cause for Nicholas Latifi’s Pointless 2022 Season

It seems the bad memories of Abu Dhabi final still have not left Latifi’s mind. Jost Capito feels the infamous crash at Abu Dhabi has been one of the reasons for the underperformance of Nicholas Latifi this season.

Jost Capito backs Nicholas Latifi after last year’s crash

The Williams driver has just 2 points this season. This year hasn’t gone with the calibre of the Canadian driver. Latifi has faced immense trolls on social media after the final race last year, which seems to have shaken up his confidence.

The lack of confidence can be seen on the points table too, as with Nicholas Latifi at the bottom of the table, team Williams also stands on the last of the constructor’s table with merely 8 points. Time is hard for the Canadian driver as with the curtains falling this year, Latifi will leave the Williams.

Williams’s team Principal believes that had not the mess happen last year, this year could have been something else. Talking to high performance podcast Capito said, “The crash, of course, it shouldn’t have happened but if you’re racing then crashes can happen.”

The German further adds, “And we never blame a driver for that, it’s possible to crash. I think that was also a part of why it took him quite a while in the season to find his competitiveness. I’m sure it affected his driving after that.” 

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With just two races remaining, do you think the Canadian driver can enhance his points tally at the driver’s table?