Earlier on Friday, the Williams F1 team revealed that it had plans to assess Nicholas Latifi’s car and the damage done after it caught fire during the pre-season testing session at Bahrain.
Williams driver Nicholas Latifi had to abandon his car on Friday during a pre-season session testing in Bahrain. Latifi. whose 2021 season ended abruptly after a car crash at the final race in Abu Dhabi, had grabbed a fire extinguisher from nearby to put out the flames which were growing at the back of his car.
The Canadian had a narrow escape after his Williams car caught fire, with one of the tyres exploding just a few moments after he had exited the vehicle. He was quickly joined by a few marshals as they attempted to put out the fire.
Williams then released a statement after Latifi’s dramatic issue with the car.
Nicholas Latifi’s Williams catches fire during testing; team releases statement
Latifi was cruising around the Bahrain international circuit, testing his new Williams for 2022, when smoke started appearing from the back end of his car. Soon afterwards, cameras caught the flames around the rear brakes just as Latifi was heading back to the pits. The 26-year old then spun out on the track and came to a halt towards the side.
After Latifi managed to get out of the car, there was an explosion. The commentators had then suggested that the rear tyre had exploded. Latifi was accompanied by fire marshals who attempted to put out the flames. Testing on the track was suspended until the Williams was lifted off the track with the help of a crane.
Williams soon released a statement confirming that the team will look to assess what caused the fire before they could get the car back on track. “Following a fire on Nicholas’ car, the team will assess the damage and look to understand the cause of the issue prior to any further running,” read a statement from the British team.
Prior to Latifi’s car catching fire, his new teammate Alex Albon has been optimistic about the car, insisting that it was running well.
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