It was a day and race to remember for Nicholas Latifi and Williams as he scored his first points in F1 at the Hungarian Grand Prix. 

Starting P18 after an extremely difficult qualifying for the team, the Canadian driver avoided the carnage to gain twelve positions and found himself in P6 before the red flag was thrown to clear the debris down at T1.  

''I mean it was kind of just do my own race and focus on my tyres and just try and keep it consistent,'' said the Canadian. 

''After the start [and] getting through that first corner carnage, I knew we were in a great position.  

''We saw what happened last year with the Haas’ [they pitted at the end of the formation lap to change to dries and were briefly P3 and P4; Magnussen ultimately finished P10] getting out of position and just being able to hold on.''

Every single driver bar Lewis Hamilton pitted at the end of the formation lap before the second start as the track had dried out. A great stop by the Williams crew meant Latifi jumped up to P3 and ran in that position throughout the first stint. He prioritised track position over trying to keep up with Ocon and Vettel. 

''So then obviously making the call 100% to go on to the slicks; we were a bit worried what everyone else is going to do, you don’t want to be the only one doing it, but in the end it was clear and being P3 for a good chunk of the first stint.  

''Again, I wasn’t getting drawn into fighting to stay with the cars ahead. Ultimately we had the ninth quickest car yesterday and normally we take a step back in the races... so holding on, doing my own race, focusing on the tyres and in the end it was a very long stint on the prime tyre. I did lose them at the end unfortunately so that was touch and go. 

''[A] very very long race; tough for the tyres, tough for the driver.''

Williams were out of position in the first stint and it told as Latifi got overcut by Tsunoda, Sainz and Alonso. He was also overtaken by Hamilton and Gasly after the stops. 

''In the end we got overcut and I did have a bit more tyre life left so maybe I could have pushed a little bit harder on that first stint. It was very difficult to manage at the end.  

''I mean a double points finish for the team at the end is amazing; P8 in the championship going into the summer break. We’ve been knocking on the door of points finishes for a few races now, so to actually get that is amazing. So happy for the team.''

My first points in #F1 and a double points finish for @williamsracing 😃 #NL6 #wearewilliams pic.twitter.com/oQ2bk4lMO1

— Nicholas Latifi (@NicholasLatifi) August 1, 2021