Williams happy with Latifi: "His approach was great all weekend"

After a couple of seasons of being the laughing stock of the field, Williams finally seems to have found its way up. In Imola, the team fought its way through the midfield, and the reason for the crash between Valtteri Bottas and George Russell was even the fact that a Williams could overtake a Mercedes at all.

Trust

It's usually Russell who is in the limelight for the legendary team. Nicholas Latifi's performances are generally less impressive, but the team is not unhappy with him. Speaking to Motorsport.com, Dave Robson, head of vehicle performance, said: "He was fast from the start here last year as well. For some reason, he feels comfortable at Imola. The fact that he has confidence in the car also helps. Nicky needs that momentum during the weekend and that was the case at Imola."

So although the Canadian's Sunday was a quick one after an accident with Nikita Mazepin, Williams are impressed: "Even after a moment in VT3 he picked it back up immediately. It didn't affect him at all, not in terms of confidence in the car and not what was going on in his head. His approach was great all weekend. It definitely helped that he has confidence in the car, some more speed and that he's not driving all the way at the back."

Performance

The question is whether Williams can sneak further forward this year. How was it possible for the team to fight with a Mercedes in Italy? Robson: "We had some new parts. Obviously the floor. We followed the trend of most other teams and changed the edge of the floor. That improved the car a bit. The tyres worked well and the less strong wind contributed to better performance. Also, the drivers had more confidence."