Nicholas Latifi is anticipating that he and new teammate Alex Albon will push each other in the 2022 season. Albon will return to the F1 grid with Williams following a year on the sidelines, during which he continued to be a part of the Red Bull team as their reserve driver as well as doing simulator work for the outfit. Latifi admits that, ahead of their first year as teammates, he has mostly spoken to Albon about his testing experiences in regards to the new regulations being introduced into the sport. "I've spoken to him briefly about his experience with the new tyres and, obviously, in terms of next year's car in general," Latifi told media including RacingNews365.com . "I guess, for our team in particular, we haven't spoken so much about [that]. To be honest, I haven't really done a whole amount of sim [work] on the 2022 car yet. "I've done some days, but we've kind of just been waiting to get this year finished and [go] straight back on Monday morning [after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix], flying back to go to the factory and kind of get started already with a bit of 2022 prep. "But yeah, we will obviously talk. We've worked together before, and I know we'll push each other quite hard."
"Continuous improvement" of second year
Latifi will enter into his third season in F1 in 2022, and feels that both he and the team took many steps forwards in the 2021 season. "I think it's been a big season of continuous improvement," the Canadian explained. "I think, whenever you're going from your rookie year into your second year - of any sports, but I guess F1 and just racing in particular - there's probably always going to be the biggest improvements and biggest gains on all aspects. "Not just the driving stuff, but being in the F1 environment, team environment, being more comfortable in all the situations that you face in F1 that you don't necessarily face in junior categories. "When I look back at the actual driving bits and and the performance aspect, I think there's for sure a lot of things that I wanted to do better. Some little issues and details, as well, that - with hindsight, with more experience - [I] probably would have liked to have adjusted to and adapted to a bit better. "But I really feel that it's been a continuous improvement where the performance is on the right trajectory. Again, not always evident on the timing screens, but that's not the important thing right now for the position we're in. "It's just to continue building myself, my confidence, confidence with the team, and, with the direction that the team is going in now, [and] going into next year, it's a very exciting time."
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