Latifi: IndyCar contract talk “funny”, denies concrete news

Latifi, who finished runner-up in the 2019 Formula 2 championship, was told by Williams in September that this, his fourth season with the team, his third as a race driver, would also be his last.

Since then, there has been speculation linking the 27-year-old Canadian to various IndyCar drives, including the legendary Chip Ganassi Racing, which has yet to announce a replacement for Jimmie Johnson, alongside incumbents Scott Dixon, Alex Palou and Marcus Ericsson.

But ahead of the U.S. Grand Prix at Circuit of The Americas, Latifi denied he had even decided in which series to race next year, let alone for which team.

“Honestly, I’m still not committed to anything, I haven’t signed anything, I’m still not any further along in having concrete news to share,” he said. “I saw the news over the past days that I’ve already signed a contract to race in IndyCar which I found a little bit funny.

“But I’ve spoken to a few different teams in different categories and I’ve still not said to myself, ‘OK, it’s this or nothing’-type thing. So there’s still a lot of things that are up in the air.

“In a way it’s a bit… ‘annoying’ is not the word, but obviously most of my focus is still on finishing off the rest of the year on as high note as possible and end this chapter with Williams on the positive side.

“Obviously a lot of other series have been finished now for quite a while and things move fast in motorsport and it’s a time when everyone wants to get their drivers and situations sorted as soon as possible. It still has not really been that long ago that I officially found out [I was being released]… It was just before Singapore.

“So yeah, there’s still some discussions ongoing but nothing ready to announce.”

Nicholas Latifi, Williams Racing, speaks to the media

Photo by: Carl Bingham / Motorsport Images

Latifi said he had no preference regarding which series to race in come 2023, adding: “I’m looking at not just formula cars but also endurance racing. I’m not, ‘100 percent I want to do this championship or this championship.’

“It’s just kind of hearing and trying to understand what’s the situation for teams and championships, what that might look like for me and my life as well for the future. I need to make a decision for myself and then narrow in on that.”

However, he did concede that after racing “difficult” Williams cars for three years, the fact that IndyCar runs spec Dallara chassis is one of U.S. open-wheel racing’s major attractions.

“Yes, it’s definitely one of the appeals of the series,” he agreed. “Obviously, spec racing, everyone has more of an equal opportunity. It’s something that no doubt I’ve been missing the past few years. Every now and then we’re in a position where we’re slightly more competitive for a race and we might have a few on-track battles but obviously we’re not doing that in every race – more often than not, that’s not the case.

“So that for sure is what I’ve been missing, and yeah, I’d definitely be looking forward to that if I was to join a series where it is more equal.”

Asked if he was being pulled into discussions over his future somewhat earlier than he wanted, and if he’d prefer to wait until after the F1 season finale at Abu Dhabi, Latifi replied: “If it was up to me, then yeah, but obviously realistically that’s not the way it can go. Even in Formula 1, most teams don’t wait until the last race…

“Yeah, that’s the way motorsport is, and you can understand the need for teams and drivers to have their futures sorted sooner rather than later; it’s always better to be in that position.”