Motorsport

NICHOLAS LATIFI has revealed he hired SECURITY GUARDS during a trip to London following death threats he received from Lewis Hamilton fans.The 26-year-old has stated how he felt forced to protect himself rom a potential attack when he visited London’s Winter Wonderland after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Nicholas Latifi has revealed he hired security guards at London’s Winter WonderlandCredit: Not known, clear with picture desk
Latifi has declared he received death threats following his crash at the Abu Dhabi Grand PrixCredit: Sky Sports
Williams driver Latifi declared in December how he had received shocking abuse following his crash in the Formula One season finale.
The Canadian ace crashed into the barriers on lap 54 which resulted in a safety car being deployed.
This ultimately wiped out Hamilton lead in the Middle East, with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen then pipping him to a record eighth world title on the last lap.
And with the abuse so extreme, Latifi has said he felt obliged to take measures to protect himself when he was out with his model girlfriend Sandra Dziwiszek.
Speaking at Williams’ car launch on Tuesday, he remarked: “It sounds silly to some people but at the end of the day, you don’t know how serious people are.
“All it needs is one drunk fan at an airport, or you bump into someone who is having a bad day and they are intoxicated under the influence of something and they have these really extreme opinions.
Latifi has spoken of the measures he took to protect himself and his model girlfriend Sandra DziwiszekCredit: Not known, clear with picture desk
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“It takes just that one-in-a-million person.
“I was back in London after the race, and I had security with me when I went to Winter Wonderland with my girlfriend.
“You have to take the threats seriously because you don’t know what might happen.
“And it is just an unfortunate reality of the world we live in and there were extreme death threats which went way over the line.”
Latifi then revealed that Hamilton sent him a classy message of support where he was quick to check in on him following the abuse.
He added: “In terms of the support I got from it afterwards, Lewis did send me a message just a few days before I released the statement.

🏁 F1 2022 calendar: practice times, dates and racetrack info
“Obviously I won’t go into details of what he said. I did get some messages of support from other team members at Mercedes as well.
“Obviously the whole outcry of support on social media from multiple drivers, teams across so many different disciplines was really nice to see, encouraging to see.
“Obviously, everyone agreed with the whole sentiment and messaging.” More

WILLIAMS have officially unveiled their FW44 car for the 2022 Formula One campaign… but it’s not up to everyone’s standards.The F1 team are the sixth outfit to release their new vehicle ahead of the season opener in Bahrain on March 20.
Williams have officially unveiled their FW44 car for the 2022 seasonCredit: Instagram / @williamsracing
The dramatic design has divided opinion among fansCredit: Instagram / @williamsracing
And in a change to last year’s livery, this one is almost entirely blue and punctuated by red trimming.
It’s a striking design when compared to last season’s car, which was a lighter shade of blue and mainly white at the front.
However, after finishing eighth out of 10 in the Constructors’ standings in 2021, fans are still doubtful of Williams’ chances this year following the reveal.
One slammed: “It’s like you wanna remain as backmarkers with that livery.”
Another quipped: “I was right, a complete let down. I was wrong, not same livery as last year, it’s worse. Generic and character-less AF.”
Others though were hugely supportive of the new design.
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Williams’ new car is a mainly blue design completed with red trimmingCredit: Instagram / @williamsracing
The 16-time Constructors’ Championship winners will be hoping the new livery inspires them to victoryCredit: Instagram / @williamsracing
BT Sport presenter Jake Humphrey led the compliments, writing: “I love it. Always my favourite F1 outfit.”
Meanwhile another impressed supporter added: “It’s such a good looking car wow!”
Williams will be eager to improve on their eighth place finish from last season following back-to-back years at bottom of the pile before that.
Former driver George Russell won’t be behind the wheel after being called up to partner Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes.
Instead, Nicholas Latifi and Alex Albon will be the two men responsible for driving the eye catching FW44.
Elsewhere, Mercedes are set to unveil their car on Friday.
And Lewis Hamilton WILL be in attendance after retirement rumours following the dramatic 2021 season were finally quashed last week.
But new boy Russell has already put Merc’s rivals on red alert after claiming it needs ‘a huge amount of improvement’. More

RED BULL have faced ‘big hurdles’ in preparing the car Max Verstappen will use in his Formula One title defence.Team advisor Helmut Marko told Austrian publication Kleine Zeitung the sport’s new financial restrictions and sweeping technical changes have proved challenging.
Red Bull boss Christian Horner, driver Max Verstappen and team consultant Helmut Marko are preparing for the new F1 seasonCredit: Getty
Red Bull have released promotional images of their new RB18 carCredit: Getty
Marko also said the intense season-long battle against Mercedes and their main man Lewis Hamilton for the the Drivers’ and Constructors’ 2021 titles had been tough to juggle alongside car development.
He explained: “We faced two or three big hurdles.
“It was the biggest change in regulations in the last 15 or 20 years.
“All the new designs and planning had to be done within the budget cap.
“And then we were fighting for a World Championship and had to move the new car forward at the same time.”
Red Bull recently unveiled its all-new F1 car – the RB18 – for the 2022 season.
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Marko said that unveiling was important in terms of sponsors, but that there is plenty of work still to be done on the RB18 before the new campaign gets underway in Bahrain next month.
He added: “That was a presentation for the time being, it’s especially important for our partners.
“The first roll-out will take place later. And until the first race in Bahrain, there will be some changes.
“We don’t reveal everything at the presentation, there are still some updates to come.” More

FORMULA ONE bosses have announced the decision to HALF the number of sprint races in 2022 from six to three. Pleas from F1 teams not to increase the number of sprint races have been successful, with events pencilled in for Bahrain, Canada and the Netherlands all scrapped.
The FIA have announced a number of changes to the format of sprint racesCredit: AP
Instead just three sprint races will go ahead in 2022, the same number as 2021.
Feedback from the media and fans, as well as F1 teams themselves, have prompted a change of plan from race chiefs.
The name has also been officially changed from ‘sprint qualifying’ to just ‘the sprint’.
And finishing first no longer guarantees the official crown of ‘pole position’, with that honour instead going to the fastest driver in Friday’s qualifying.
But the result of the Saturday sprint will still determine the order of the grid for Sunday’s Grand Prix.
Meanwhile, the grid for the sprint races will be decided by the fastest times in Friday’s qualifying.
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There will also be a point-scoring system for the top-eight sprint finishers, allocated 8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 from first to eighth.
That’s in a bid to encourage a strong performance on Saturdays of race weekends.
Last year points were only awarded to the top three drivers on a 3-2-1 basis from first to third.
The British, Italian and Brazilian GP’s were the venues for the sprint races last season.
Italy and Brazil have retained the honour for 2022, but instead of Silverstone it will be Austria to host the first sprint this year.
Just finishing first in the sprint won’t be enough for the official title of ‘pole position’, but the winner will be P1 on the grid in Sunday’s raceCredit: AP
An FIA statement announcing the changes read: “Following a review of the three sprint events that took place in 2021 and a recognition by all that the format created positive benefits for the sport,
“Three sprint events were proposed for 2022, acknowledging this as a sensible number in light of the pressures already on the teams for this season with the introduction of major changes to the regulations.
“The Commission unanimously approved the three sprint events for the coming season, incorporating a number of updates to the format based on the feedback of fans, media and teams.”
Disagreements over the finances involved for the sprint races had led to suggestions that they could be scrapped entirely.
But the statement added: “Cost Cap adjustments for sprint events will remain unchanged from 2021.”
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FIA bosses have held fire on publishing their report into Michael Masi’s cock-up in Abu Dhabi – but have given a massive hint the Aussie will be spared the axe.Masi failed to obey safety car rules in the season finale, resulting in Max Verstappen passing Lewis Hamilton on the final lap to win the race and the F1 title.
Michael Masi is expected to stay on in his role as race directorCredit: Getty
Masi’s handling of the GP – and other incidents in 2021 – has led to calls for him to be sacked.
However, FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem unveiled his findings at a meeting of the F1 Commission in London on Monday and said that a report would be made in the “coming days” on “structural changes”.
It is widely believed that against Hamilton and Mercedes’s wishes, Masi will be retained but offered the additional help of a deputy, who will act as a buffer between Masi and the teams.
An investigation into the Abu Dhabi GP took place with the FIA hearing how Red Bull sporting director Jonathan Wheatley seemed to influence Masi’s decision making.
Wheatley is heard telling Masi: “Those lapped cars — you don’t need to let them go right the way around and catch up with the back of the pack.
“You only need to let them go and then we’ve got a motor race on our hands.”
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Masi replies: “Understood.” He then follows the suggestion.
To add insult to injury for disgruntled Mercedes, after their boss Toto Wolff complained about the result, he said: “Toto, it’s called a motor race, OK?”
Head of F1 at the FIA Peter Bayer, who is overseeing the inquiry, previously admitted Masi could be replaced by a new race director.
He said: “Michael did a super job in many ways. We told him that.
“But also that there is a possibility there could be a new race director.” More