Both Williams Racing drivers ended the 2021 Formula 1 season by retiring from the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, with Nicholas Latifi’s late crash playing a big part in the decisive overtake by Max Verstappen to take the Drivers’ Championship.
Latifi had been embroiled in a near race-long battle with Uralkali Haas F1 Team’s Mick Schumacher when he crashed out at turn fourteen with six laps remaining, bringing out the safety car in the process.
The subsequent pit stop by Verstappen to fit the soft Pirelli tyre following by the lapped cars in between the Dutchman and race leader Lewis Hamilton then gave the Red Bull Racing driver the chance to pass the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team driver for the race win and the title.
Latifi, of course, was the unwitting pawn in the championship chess game, and he admitted post-race that he was hoping to end the year by bringing the car home having struggled for performance throughout the race at the Yas Marina Circuit.
“It was a tough race out there today and we were struggling for pace throughout,” said Latifi. “Towards the end of the Grand Prix, I was racing with Mick Schumacher and was forced slightly wide, but fairly, at Turn Nine.
“My tyres got dirty from running off track and I subsequently made a small mistake and unfortunately crashed. This obviously wasn’t how I wanted to end our season, so it’s disappointing.”
“I’m proud of what we’ve achieved as a team” – George Russell
Team-mate George Russell saw his Williams career end in retirement on lap twenty-six as a gearbox issue prevented the Briton from finishing the Grand Prix.
Russell, who will move to the multiple championship-winning Mercedes team in 2022, had also struggled for pace and performance up until his retirement, but he was full of praise for the team that has been his home for the past three seasons.
2021 has been Russell’s best season in Formula 1 to date, with four points finishes and multiple visits into Q2 and Q3. He ends the year fifteenth in the championship with sixteen points, with Williams ending eighth in the Constructors’ Championship.
“We had a gearbox issue which ultimately ended our race and may have been caused by something flying into the airbox,” said Russell. “We need to review whether that was the case but there’s nothing we can do about that, so it’s unfortunate to finish our season in that way.
“The important thing though is that we sealed P8 in the Constructors’ Championship, which was much more than we could have hoped for this year and was our goal at the start of the weekend.
“I’m proud of what we’ve achieved as a team and I’m grateful to everyone at Grove for their hard work.”
