Latifi CAN, Williams Racing, F1 Grand Prix of Bahrain at Bahrain International Circuit on March 26, 2021 in Sakhir, Bahrain (Imago)
Latifi’s FW44 Williams car exploded into flames early on the second day of the Bahrain test
Nicholas Latifi had to leave the steering wheel and hold a fire extinguisher after his car burst into flames near Turn 12. Latifi is safe and fine and the fire breakout wasn’t as dangerous as it appears to be in videos.
In an official statement on social media the Williams Racing team explained, “From initial investigations, it appears that the issue which caused the fire was quite minor but became visibly quite dramatic. It’s not as severe as the video footage might suggest but there is fire damage to the rear of the car that the team needs to repair.”
Latifi was able to exit the car in time which ensured that there was no major mishap. Replays appear to show that Latifi’s rear brakes failed as he went into Turn 12 before flames engulfed the back of the car. The Williams driver ran towards a fire marshal when there was a small explosion. Latifi himself helped to put off the fire using a fire extinguisher. The fire could be contained after a few minutes.
Latifi’s teammate Alexander Albon shared his understanding of the incident after examining the scene. “My initial feeling was, how did he spin? But looks like the rear left snapped just as it was over heating. That’s a bit scary”, said Albon. Speaking on the explosion, Albon said, “I hope it’s just the tyre. All that stuff flying around could be the rear drum that shattered after the explosion.”
The video footage of the incident does appear to be scary and at first glance anyone would be worried. Fans definitely were concerned about Latifi’s well being.
However, seeing Latifi himself helping to put off the fire with a fire extinguisher was a great relief. “The good thing is he’s ok”, one concerned user wrote on Twitter. There were mixed reactions from other fans and users. “Is he trained and competent to execute this role or was he putting himself and others in danger”, wrote a user who was clearly not impressed to see Latifi using the fire extinguisher.
“The car’s not ready yet”; “The brakes got so bad that it has to burn”, wrote some of the fans who were doubtful of the car’s condition going into the new season. “Somehow I get a feeling we are going to see a lot of disqualifications this season”, wrote a fan clearly referring to the large number of red flags we have already seen so far over the two testing sessions in Barcelona and Bahrain.
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