A Friday in Montreal: Latifi’s first steps and Renault’s concerns

Barely holding 10% of McLaren group’s assets, Michael Latifi could rejoice at his son Nicholas’s first laps behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car, specifically a Force India driven by Sergio Pérez, during the first free practice session of the Canadian Grand Prix.

Nicholas Latifi’s First Steps in Formula 1 in Front of His Home Crowd:

The Canadian, at home, certainly did not impress everyone against a solid Esteban Ocon, but this initial run went without any notable hitch for the current F2 driver. With 28 laps on the clock and the 19th and last time – Nico Hülkenberg having not had the opportunity to register a timed lap, Latifi was nevertheless able to fully take advantage of the opportunity offered by Force India: « It’s really a special sensation, acknowledged the young 22-year-old driver. On my last lap, I could see the fans waving the Canadian flag for me. » confirmed the DAMS driver in F2.

A golden opportunity, in front of his home crowd, with no further plans scheduled for now. The main goal of the 22-year-old driver is, of course, to secure a spot in the top 5 of the F2 championship to be eligible for the Super License, which is mandatory to compete in Formula 1: « It was planned for me to gain experience during an official Grand Prix, and it made sense to do so in Montreal, where I was born. The most important thing for now is to obtain my Super License and for that, I need to finish at least 5th in the F2 Championship to collect the necessary points. My experiences in F1 are a bonus for me, but I remain focused on my F2 season. »

And if there was still a need to clarify that his father’s investment in McLaren wouldn’t necessarily help his career, Latifi doesn’t hesitate to dot the i’s: « My father’s investment has nothing to do with my racing career. It’s simply a business opportunity for him. » he concludes.

Hey there @NicholasLatifi 👋

The Canadian is taking the place of Sergio Perez at @ForceIndiaF1 for FP1#F1 🇨🇦 #CanadianGP pic.twitter.com/YRZLGI4w94

— Formula 1 (@F1) 8 juin 2018

Renault engine worries…and the factory team stumbles:

Red Bull had made sure to warn everyone from the start: the engine on Daniel Ricciardo’s RB14 might not hold up all weekend after a difficult, albeit victorious, race in Monaco.

If the driver was finally rather optimistic on Friday morning, an electrical incident kept the Australian at his pit for a good part of the second session. Finally on track for the end of FP2, Ricciardo nevertheless managed to secure an excellent third time with Super soft tires, which are two levels below those used by Max Verstappen that allowed him to achieve the best time.

A situation that does not seem to worry Christian Horner, the sporting director of the Austrian team: « There is nothing more worrying than usual. The MGU-K has already done a few Grand Prix and has some mileage. It’s the first one of the season that has been put back in the car, he doesn’t have another available. We hope everything will be fine. »

Renault also confirmed having provided all its teams with the announced updates on their power units. The Renault cars, but also the Red Bull and McLaren cars, are therefore equipped with the latest specifications.

A development that did not allow the Renault factory driver to shine. Nico Hülkenberg was quickly hampered by a gearbox problem during FP1 and Carlos Sainz made a mistake during FP2, damaging the rear of his car.

Current Nico status: CTRL + ALT + DEL #RSspirit #CanadianGP #FP1 pic.twitter.com/Itwo6ck204

— Renault Sport F1 (@RenaultSportF1) 8 juin 2018

Despite this difficult start to the weekend, Cyril Abiteboul prefers to remain optimistic for the qualifiers and the race: We had a problem this morning with Nico, and it’s a semi-permanent circuit, so we don’t want to lose the morning. It’s a gearbox problem. It was the Friday gearbox, which doesn’t affect the rest of the weekend, so no problem, no penalty for Sunday, the Frenchman clarified on British television.

The incident with Carlos Sainz, however, concerns the team’s Sporting Director a little more, as he made a strange face, captured by the FOM cameras during the Spanish driver’s off-track excursion: « He wasn’t supposed to push in that lap, that’s why I made that face! But he was two-tenths ahead in that lap with a more conservative engine mode, which is a very good sign. There’s not a lot of damage, even though it was too much to resume the session. Fortunately, it was the spare gearbox, but the guys have their work cut out for tonight. » concluded Abiteboul.