F1 | George Russell vs Nicholas Latifi; performance comparison in qualifying and race
George Russell and Nicholas Latifi were the drivers who raced for Williams in 2020, which was an extremely difficult year for the British team since they, once again, did not score a point. In this piece, we analyze their performances during qualifying sessions and race.
The 2020 season came to an end, before this it is time to make the count of one of the most limited teams within the Formula 1 grid: Williams. The legendary British team has been in recent years surpassed by the rest of the grid due to the economic problems they have. George Russell and Nicholas Latifi are the two drivers who have sought to add the longed-for point up from a Williams, and although history has not done them justice to some acceptable performances, the quality of both drivers cannot be doubted.
As the races went by, Latifi justified his position in the 'Travelling Circus', with two races being the first for the team -Monza and Sochi- and one more in Imola after the departure of Russell for a better car, the Canadian was close to adding his first point in history after falling one second behind Antonio Giovinazzi. On his part, Russell passed over his teammate, in the standings the British continued to give something to talk about and it is not for less that he is considered the promising driver, who with a limited car has managed to take advantage of it even more. In fact Russell once again surpassed a his teammate when he was at Mercedes.
Grand Prix | Russell's Time Lap | Russell's Position | Latifi's Position | Latifi's Time Lap | Difference from Latifi to Russell |
Austria | 1:05.167 | 17 | 20 | 1:05.757 | +0.590 |
Styria | 1:20.871 | 12 | 18 | 1:32.759 | +11.888 |
Hungary | 1:15.722 | 12 | 15 | 1:16.105 | +0.383 |
Great Britain | 1:26.732 | 15 | 20 | 1:27.705 | +0.973 |
70th Anniversary | 1:27.757 | 15 | 18 | 1:28.430 | +0.673 |
Spain | 1:18.099 | 18 | 19 | 1:18.532 | +0.433 |
Belgium | 1:43.468 | 15 | 19 | 1:44.138 | +0.670 |
Italy | 1:21.587 | 19 | 20 | 1:21.717 | +0.130 |
Toscany | 1:17.232 | 18 | 19 | 1:17.320 | +0.088 |
Russia | 1:33.583 | 14 | 19 | 1:35.066 | +1.483 |
Eifel | 1:27.564 | 17 | 18 | 1:27.812 | +0.248 |
Portugal | 1:17.788 | 14 | 20 | 1:18.777 | +0.982 |
Imola | 1:15.760 | 13 | 19 | 1:15.987 | +0.227 |
Turkey | 2:10.017 | 18 | 20 | 2:21.611 | +11.594 |
Bahrain | 1:29.924 | 14 | 20 | 1:30.182 | +0.258 |
Sakhir* | 54.160 | 2 | 17 | 54.796 | +0.636 |
Abu Dhabi | 1:38.045 | 18 | 20 | 1:38.443 | +0.398 |
Average Qualifying Position | 15th (14.7) | 19th (18.8) | |||
Average Difference from Latifi to Russell | +1.861 |
In qualifying times, the British was greatly separated from his teammate, with almost two seconds of difference in the average of fastest laps, Russell was never beaten, as he was last year against Robert Kubica. Despite having the most limited car on the grid, George Russell has proven to have enough capacity and raises his hand for another season to be within a mid-field team and even one of the "Top 3", despite the fact that Mercedes has denied him the opportunity. In fact, in the week that he was on loan with the 'silver arrows', the British driver solidly dominated free practice and during the race he was one of the best drivers on the grid with the misfortune that in the pits he would find the sudden error it would cost him his first victory within Formula 1. Also, Russell was the driver of the team who could reach the most in Q2 and knowing that the Williams was one of the worst cars in traffic, he managed to drag it to good ports. Latifi only knew that part of the classification on one occasion, however his teammate managed to register a better time.
Grand Prix | George Russell's Position | Nicholas Latifi's Position |
Austria | DNF | 11 |
Styria | 16 | 17 |
Hungary | 18 | 19 |
Great Britain | 12 | 15 |
70th Anniversary | 18 | 19 |
Spain | 17 | 18 |
Belgium | DNF | 16 |
Italy | 14 | 11 |
Toscany | 11 | DNF |
Russia | 18 | 16 |
Eifel | DNF | 14 |
Portugal | 14 | 18 |
Imola | DNF | 11 |
Turkey | 16 | DNF |
Bahrain | 12 | 14 |
Sakhir* | 9 | DNF |
Abu Dhabi | 15 | 17 |
Average Race Position | 11th (11.1) | 13th (13.7) |
In the race the situation this can be seen even more, even if Russell's position in Sakhir when he competed with Mercedes is not counted, the difference between the two would be, on average, only one place apart. Latifi has had an acceptable season, considering that he has been the only driver who made his debut in the 'Travelling Circus' and despite the fact that he has lagged behind without points, there is still a path with which he will be able to demonstrate his level. On the other hand, Russell's dominance leaves open the question of why see him for another season at Williams when he has all the qualities to be in a team with a bigger budget and a car with a much better performance.