How Williams helped Nicholas Latifi after "completely unacceptable" death threats

Williams

How Williams helped Latifi after "completely unacceptable" death threats

Latifi hired a security detail after receiving death threats for his crash in Abu Dhabi last year

Sam Hall

Thursday 17 February 2022 12:20

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Jost Capito has explained how Williams gave "confidence" to Nicholas Latifi after the Canadian received death threats following the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Last season ended with a controversial last-lap dash to the flag for title honours between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton after a late safety car period sparked by Latifi crashing into a wall.

A week after the event, Latifi released a statement revealing he had been subjected to death threats and additional online abuse.

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The 26-year-old explained that although he was not surprised by the abuse, the "extreme tone of hate and the death threats" had shocked him.

Although in disagreement over the outcome of the championship-deciding race, both Mercedes and Red Bull publicly offered their support to the Canadian.

Explaining how Williams has assisted its driver through this challenging period, team principal and CEO Capito explained to media including GPFans: “What happened to him is completely unacceptable and it’s difficult to give more than mental support.

“So we supported him in a way that he is convinced that he didn’t do anything wrong, that the team doesn’t blame him for any mistake or any failures or anything.

"He was racing and in racing, something can happen. If you fight for position, this can happen and we wanted him to fight so there was nothing wrong with this.

“We gave him this confidence and he took himself out of social media and we didn’t push him on social media to give him a break from this."

Speaking at the launch of the FW44, Latifi revealed he hired a security detail soon after the Abu Dhabi race to protect against a "one-in-a-million" fan with "extreme views".

Referring to Latifi's December statement in which he revealed the threats, Capito added: “You have seen the text he came up with when he came back.

"And I think that was very helpful, not just for him, it was helpful for everybody in the sport or even beyond this sport and it made him stronger.

“I think it shows his personality, his values and they are fully aligned with Williams.

“We are working with him together on this and we fully support him in whatever he would need or require.”