Is it time for Williams to replace Nicholas Latifi?

Losers from the F1 Italian Grand Prix 2022

Nicholas Latifi

The writing is on the wall for Nicholas Latifi as he was comprehensively beaten by Nyck de Vries.

Latifi has struggled considerably since the start of the year, failing to adapt to the new ground effect cars, while Williams’ lack of downforce has exacerbated the issue.

Given de Vries’ lack of time in the car, Latifi's failure to out-qualify him (or make Q2 at Williams’ best track of the year) was unacceptable.

It’s clear that Latifi isn’t good enough for F1 and de Vries would be an immediate upgrade.

Would Williams consider replacing him mid-season to bed de Vries ahead of 2023?

Due to Latifi’s financial contribution to the team, it’s unlikely, as they were reluctant to drop him earlier in the year for Oscar Piastri.

Sergio Perez

What has happened to Sergio Perez?

It’s not long ago he was being talked about as a potential title contender (I mean, that was never a realistic possibility).

His qualifying form has been abysmal as of late, qualifying around 0.9s off Max Verstappen at Monza, while the gap in the races before that was over half a second.

Perez needs to up his form or he’s at risk of dropping to fifth in the championship.

Alpine

Alpine endured a disastrous weekend at Monza, which is a surprise as many tipped the French outfit to go well due to the impressive speed they’ve shown this year at low downforce venues.

Fernando Alonso was forced out of the race early due to a suspected water pressure issue, while Esteban Ocon couldn’t recover from his engine penalty into the points.

Thankfully for Alpine, McLaren weren’t able to fully capitalise with Daniel Ricciardo retiring from the race while running inside the top 10.

Aston Martin

It was a weekend to forget for Aston Martin with both Lance Stroll and Sebastian Vettel retiring due to technical problems.

Vettel stopped on track after just 12 laps due to an ERS issue, while Stroll pulled into the pits to save his engine.

Singapore will surely be better for the Silverstone-based outfit.

Winners from F1 Italian Grand Prix 2022

Max Verstappen

Max Verstappen has now won five races in a row. 

It’s crazy to think that Sebastian Vettel’s record of nine consecutive victories in 2013 is now under threat.

On paper, the Singapore Grand Prix is Red Bull’s biggest test out of the remaining six races with Ferrari and Mercedes typically strong on high downforce circuits.

We’re witnessing greatness this season and nothing can seem to stop Verstappen, as seen at Monza.

Pierre Gasly

Pierre Gasly made a welcome return to the top 10 at Monza - only his second points finish in eight races.

Monza is the scene of Gasly’s famous maiden F1 victory in 2020 so it was no surprise to see the Frenchman back on form at AlphaTauri’s home race.

Gasly qualified and finished inside the top 10 - something that has been a rarity this season given AlphaTauri’s struggles.

Nyck de Vries

As a last-minute replacement for Alex Albon, de Vries performed remarkably for Williams on his F1 debut.

Considering he only had half of FP3 to get up to speed, de Vries’ achievement cannot be understated.

He progressed into Q2 and finished in the points, clinging onto the DRS train by starting on the softs.

One overlooked point was how he lost little time whilst being lapped by Verstappen, allowing him to break DRS to Zhou Guanyu behind.

• What options does Nyck de Vries have to stay in F1?

Zhou Guanyu 

Zhou has quietly enjoyed an impressive run of form since the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

He’s 5-4 up on Bottas (engine penalties due play apart) but there’s no doubt that Zhou has made sizeable improvements since his debut in Bahrain.

He’s deserving of a second year with Alfa Romeo and a third points finish of the year is a just reward for his recent run of form relative to Bottas.