Driver Profiles - Russell and Latifi (Williams)

Williams Racing was founded in 1977 by Frank Williams and Patrick Head, with 9 Constructors Championships and 7 Drivers Championships to their name, their long history puts them at the heart of F1. The Williams Family have had a majority stake in the team from the beginning, however in 2020 Dorilton Capital acquired the team; Claire Williams was offered the role of Team Principal, however, turned it down and she and Frank stepped down from management after the Italian GP. The team have used a variety of engine, from Honda and Renault to BMW and Toyota to name a few; they now use a Mercedes Benz power unit. The team has also ventured into F2, designing the car for the 2009-2019 seasons, as well as a partnership with Jaguar Racing for Formula E. Some of their most notable drivers include Ayrton Senna, Nelson Piquet, Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell, Juan Pablo Montoya and Jenson Button. The current team principal is Simon Roberts, with George Russell and Nicholas Latifi as their drivers.

George Russell #63

George Russell is a 23-year-old British driver, who’s titles include 2018 F2 Champion and 2017 GP3 Champion. He began karting in 2006, before making a debut in both Formula Renault 2.0 and F4 in 2014. He graduated to F3 in 2015 with Carlin, before switching to Hitech GP for the 2016 season. Russell then signed for ART GP to race in the 2017 GP3 season, winning the championship and joining the Mercedes junior driver programme, before moving to F2 for the 2018 season, where he beat Albon and Norris for the title. In 2019, he joined Williams on a multi-year deal and has continued to drive for the team ever since. In the 2020 season, Russell replaced Hamilton at Mercedes for the Sakhir GP after his fellow Brit had tested positive for COVID. He qualified P2 and took P1 during the race, however, the Mercedes pit team mixed up his tyres with Bottas' causing him to pit again, followed by a slow puncture resulting in another pit and costing him his first F1 podium, as he finished P9. The driver was also appointed as a director for the GP Driver’s Association, replacing Grosjean.

Nicholas Latifi #6

Nicholas Latifi starting his karting career in 2009, aged 13, before moving up to F3 in 2012, starting in the Italian Championship, as well as the European Championship and British F3. In 2014, he competed in the final 3 rounds of Formula Renault 3.5. He made his GP2 debut in the same year, racing a few times in the following season and securing a full-time seat in 2016. After the rebrand to F2, he retained his seat at DAMS, finishing 5th in 2017, 9th in 2018 and then 2nd in 2019. In terms of F1, the 25-year-old Canadian was signed as the test driver for Renault in 2016, and then the Force India test and reserve driver for 2018, before being announced as the Williams’ test and reserve driver for 2019. Latifi then replaced Kubica for the 2020 season at Williams, however missed his debut due to contracting COVID.

Other Drivers

The team’s reserve driver is Jack Aitken. You can read more about him here.