Williams Racing has confirmed that Nicholas Latifi will leave the British outfit at the end of the current season.
Over the summer, rumors of Latifi's exit from Williams gained momentum on the back of the Canadian's significant underperformance relative to teammate Alex Albon.
Most recently, the 27-year-old endured a difficult triple-header, marked by an opening lap mistake at Spa, an uneventful race at Zandvoort and another under-performance relative to rookie Nyck de Vries who had been drafted in to replace Albon following the latter's case of appendicitis.
The writing was therefore on the wall for Latifi who made his F1 debut with Williams in 2020.
"I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone at Williams Racing - all the people back at the factory and those I work with trackside - for the last three years," said the Canadian in a statement published by Williams on Friday.
"My initial F1 debut was postponed due to the pandemic but we eventually got going in Austria and, although we have not achieved the results together we hoped we would, it’s still been a fantastic journey.
"Getting those first points in Hungary last year was a moment I’ll never forget, and I will move onto the next chapter of my career with special memories of my time with this dedicated team.
"I know none of us will stop putting in every effort until the end of the season."
©Williams
Latifi's chances of remaining in Formula 1 in 2023 appear remote while Williams will announce its line-up for next year in due course, with de Vries in the frame for a seat with the team, but the Grove-based outfit's young American protégé Logan Sargeant is also rumored to be a strong contender, while Mick Schumacher and Daniel Ricciardo are considered as long-shot bets.
"On behalf of the whole team, I would like to say an enormous thank you to Nicholas for his three years of hard work with Williams.
"He is a great team player who has a great attitude towards his colleagues and work and is well liked and respected throughout the business.
"Our time together is now coming to an end, but I know he will put full effort in to maximise what we can do together for the remainder of this season.
"We wish him all the very best of luck for his future, both in and out of the cockpit."
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