From horrific online abuse to new career joy: Nicholas Latifi ends two-year silence

Former Williams and F1 driver Nicholas Latifi has resurfaced, more than two years on since disappearing from the public eye in order to pursue a different career path.

Latifi put his racing career on pause at the start of 2023, having been dropped from the Williams driver line-up for that season.

Nicholas Latifi confirms college graduation

Appearing on social media after over two years of silence, Latifi posted some pictures of himself in a graduation gown and beaming with pride upon achieving a goal he’d set out for himself.

“Hey, everyone! It’s been a while since I last posted,” he wrote in the post.

“I wanted to take some time away to fully focus on my MBA at London Business School and really enjoy the experience free of distractions. I’m happy to share that I graduated a few months ago!

“Having not done an undergrad degree, I had no idea what to expect, and I will admit I was a little nervous at first.

“But, I quickly discovered how warm and welcoming the LBS community is and built friendships I know will last a lifetime.

“These past two years have been among the most rewarding of my life, filled with learning, growth, new experiences, and memories I will carry with me forever.”

Intriguingly, he signed off with a tantalising hint that further announcements from him could yet come, having not ruled out a return to racing when he first stepped aside.

“Excited for what is ahead,” he said. “More to come soon…”

Latifi last raced in F1 for Williams at the 2022 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, a year on from an infamous event in which he became inextricably linked with the controversial conclusion to the 2021 title fight between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen.

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The events of that evening at Yas Marina were sparked by a late-race crash for Latifi, who went on to receive extreme levels of online abuse and hatred that escalated to the point of him receiving death threats, as he revealed shortly after that race.

“I’ve purposely been staying away from social media to kind of let things settle down from the events of the last race,” he said at the time.

“A lot has been made of the situation that came about after my retirement in Abu Dhabi. I’ve received thousands of messages to my social media accounts – publicly and via DMs. Most have been supportive, but there’s been a lot of hate and abuse, too.

“I’ve been trying to figure out the best way to go about handling this. Do I ignore it and carry on? Or do I address it and tackle the bigger issue that is sadly a reality when you use social media?

“This isn’t some scripted statement, but rather me speaking my mind in the hope that this maybe sparks another conversation about online bullying and the drastic consequences it can have on people.

“Using social media as a channel to attack somebody with messages of hate, abuse, and threats of violence is shocking – and something I am calling out.

“As soon as the chequered flag dropped, I knew how things were likely to play out on social media.

“The fact that I felt it would be best if I deleted Instagram and Twitter on my phone for a few days says all we need to know about how cruel the online world can be.

“The ensuing hate, abuse, and threats on social media were not really a surprise to me as it’s just the stark reality of the world we live in right now.

“Having a thick skin is a huge part of being an athlete, especially when you are constantly in a position to be scrutinised. But many of the comments I received last week crossed the line into something far more extreme.

“It concerns me how somebody else might react if this same level of abuse were ever directed at them. No one should let the activities of a vocal minority dictate who they are.

“Events in the last week have made me see how important it is to work together to stop this kind of thing from happening and to support those on the receiving end.

“I realise I’m unlikely to convince those who acted in this way towards me to change their ways – and they may even try to use this message against me – but it’s right to call out this kind of behaviour and not stay silent.”

Latifi went on to reveal that he had received supportive messages from grid rivals at the start of 2022, including Hamilton, and he also continued to enjoy the support of his team boss, Jost Capito, who opined in 2022 that the Canadian’s sporadic form could have been down to his being disturbed by the off-track matter.

“The crash, of course, it shouldn’t have happened, but if you’re racing,g then crashes can happen,” Capito said.

“And we never blame a driver for that, it’s possible to crash. Otherwise, you have to stay at home if you don’t want to crash. I think that was also a part of why it took him quite a while in the season to find his competitiveness.

“I’m sure it affected his driving after that. It would have affected my driving a lot, I am absolutely convinced of this. So I can understand that and this is why we gave him the confidence and supported him all season and we knew he would come back.”

Latifi was dropped from the driver line-up at the conclusion of that season, having finished 20th overall with two points scored. Teammate Alex Albon finished 19th, with four points.

It was July 2023 before Latifi was heard from again, when he confirmed his decision to step away from racing in 2023.

Latifi is the son of Michael Latifi, owner, chairman and CEO of Canada-based Sofina Foods. It’s likely that his son’s recent business qualification could be related to a succession plan for this business, but Latifi has stated that racing may not be completely behind him.

“This is not necessarily a goodbye to the racing world forever,” he said in 2023.

“Racing has been my life since the age of 13 and is still something I am extremely passionate about. I haven’t missed watching an F1 race yet this season! However, I felt like this year was the right time to explore and pursue other avenues in my life.”

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