Nicholas Latifi is determined to get his FIA Formula 2 Championship title challenge back on track this weekend when the action shifts to his favourite circuit – Silverstone in Great Britain.
The 24-year-old Canadian started his 2019 campaign with victories in Bahrain, Azerbaijan and Spain, but while his race-leading pace has remained, luck has recently not been on the DAMS driver’s side.
Placed P2 in the Drivers’ Championship as the second half of the 12-round season gets underway, Nicholas wants to reignite his challenge for the top spot.
“The last three rounds have not gone the way I wanted, so I’m definitely looking to turn things around,” Latifi said.
“I’m still P2 at mid-season, and if at the beginning of the year you had offered this to me I would have taken it. But after the results in the first three rounds, there’s definitely extra motivation to reclaim the lead.”
Nicholas believes there’s no better place to get his title tilt back in top gear than Silverstone, the scene of his maiden FIA Formula 2 victory in 2017.
“Silverstone is my favourite track on the calendar and I’m excited to get going there,” he explained.
“It’s got some awesome high-speed corners, and that’s what driving these high-downforce cars is all about. I’ve always enjoyed the track and I’ve had good results there, so I have some very good memories.”
Reflecting on a packed season so far, which has also included reserve driver duties with ROKiT Williams Racing, Latifi expects there will be more twists and turns to come in the championship battle.
“In terms of the overall picture it’s still looking good; I’ve taken wins, podiums and I can take a lot of confidence that in five out of the six rounds I’ve had the pace to fight at the front. There’s no doubt I can be consistently in the lead fight,” he said.
“What I need to do now is minimise the mistakes and the bad luck. Normally in the ebb and flow of a season you have a few setbacks and no season is consistently clean or without issues, especially in Formula 2, so for sure I can claw back the points and keep myself in the hunt.”
Nicholas’s race weekend begins on Friday 12 July with a 45-minute practice session that leads into qualifying later that day. Saturday’s Feature Race is scheduled for 1545hrs (local time) and the weekend rounds off on Sunday with the Sprint Race from 1000hrs.
