Williams apologise for "confusion" and confirm George Russell and Nicholas Latifi for 2021

Williams

Williams apologise for "confusion" and confirm Russell and Latifi for 2021

Acting team principal Simon Roberts has held his hands up to error

Ian Parkes & Will Gray

Friday 30 October 2020 13:23 Updated: 13:42

Williams acting team principal Simon Roberts has confirmed that George Russell and Nicolas Latifi will continue with the team for 2021, ending rumours surrounding the possible appointment of Sergio Perez.

Speculation was rife at the last race in Portugal last weekend that Russell’s position was under pressure after Roberts refused to confirm the team’s driver position for next season.

But Roberts has now moved to end the issue ahead of this weekend’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola.

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“I probably caused a bit of confusion last week,” said Roberts. “I’m sorry about that. We didn’t really want to comment on the driver position.

"This is our driver line-up for this year and next year and we look forward to continuing with them in a positive way."

A relieved Russell said he is now looking forward to focusing on the future. He added: "Obviously, it’s never nice to hear any speculation that your job is up for grabs but I was confident in what I did. As Simon said, I was confident nothing would change.

“I think a lot of the speculation was said by teams of other drivers to create these issues over the last couple of weeks. I’m definitely happy and pleased to continue on this journey.”

Asked whether the team had been in discussions with Perez at any point, Roberts again refused to comment but insisted the pairing of Latifi and Russell was “always the plan".

He explained: “We’re going to stick with our drivers. That was our plan. That was always the plan. There is all sorts of stuff going on in the paddock and I can’t add to any of the speculation.”