Latifi: 'No secret I need to improve qualifying form'

Williams' Nicholas Latifi says improving his qualifying form is among his priorities this year, the Canadian feeling he has significant potential to unlock on Saturdays.

During his maiden year in F1, Latifi was crushed by teammate George Russell in the 60-minute grid-defining session, the Briton upholding in 2020 his 100 per cent Saturday afternoon track record against his Williams' acolytes.

"With qualifying I'd give [myself] a 5 out of 10," conceded Latifi. "I mean, it’s no secret that’s the part I need to improve and work on putting everything together and more often than not, I haven’t.

"I feel there is much more in me and much more in the car. It’s not always the same thing, It’s always something different.

"In general it could be a mistake on the lap which just ruins the whole lap. It could be having the tyre prep not quite right and then you go to the first corners making a mistake but as a result of something else, so it could be a result of the preparation.

"There have been a few occasions where I finish the lap and I’m like ‘Jeez, that’s where I am today, it’s just not quick enough, fair enough, I’m still learning.

"But more often than not, it’s finish the lap and it’s ‘If I had a another go and put everything together, there could be so much more potential, so much more pace and that’s the frustrating thing, knowing there is more there."

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Logically, Latifi's underperformance in qualifying has only made his life all that more more difficult on race day.

"We’ve just got to do some more digging, analysis with myself and the team to try and obviously sort out both sides, as it’s a package," he concluded.

"[We have to] try and nail those Saturdays because they make such a big difference for the races. You struggle the whole race because of it."

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