Tuscan GP – race review – Nicholas Latifi

13.09.20

p19

pDNF

“I began the day really looking forward to tackling Mugello for the first time in a Formula 1 car. Unfortunately, being caught up in the big accident on lap five meant the race was pretty short-lived.

The Safety Car regulations don’t allow overtaking until the start/finish line, and this gives the race leader the right to wait for as long as possible before restarting the race if they wish. Further down the order however you get a sort of concertina effect – and that’s what happened.

When I exited Turn 14 it seemed like people were already racing, I was flat-out for a few seconds, as was everyone else. When you’re in these positions you can’t see what the leaders are doing, you only see the cars directly in front of you. So, when a few of these guys accelerated, we all reacted to that.

When I saw trouble, I tried not to jam on the brakes and veered to the left to slow more smoothly. But the guys behind were travelling even faster, which was the worst-case scenario for all of us. At that point all of us were just passengers,

This weekend caps an intense period with nine events in just 11 weeks. There have been positives at each round, and a lot of new experiences and learnings to go over. It will be good for me and the team to have some time now to sit down and reflect, to understand where we can make improvements.

First off, I’ve got a few days in the sim ahead of me, as well as packed schedule of meetings. Then, a week from now, I’ll be raring to go in Russia.”