Harsh words for Latifi: 'He hasn't got the pace he needs to stay in F1'

De Vries participated in his first ever qualifying and race in F1 at the Italian Grand Prix. The Dutchman replaced Alexander Albon, who was unable to race due to appendicitis. The Williams reserve driver had only one hour to practice during FP3, but De Vries managed to finish in Q2 of qualifying.

Latifi, on the other hand, did not advance beyond Q1. However, both drivers moved up on the grid due to the grid penalties of several rivals. As a result, De Vries started from eighth position and Latifi from tenth. The Dutchman finished the race in ninth and took home two points for Williams, while Latifi has yet to score any points in 2022. As a result, De Vries is now ahead of Latifi in the driver's championship, despite the Canadian having gained a lot more experience in F1.

Hill: 'De Vries didn't really make a mistake'

For Hill, it is now more than clear that Latifi does not deserve to keep his Williams seat in 2023. "I’m sorry but this is the way it is. In this case, Nicholas hasn’t got the pace he needs to stay in that position in Formula 1", the world champion tells Sky Sports.

"He’s had some good moments but along comes a guy who’s not even driven in the grand prix before and he’s done a fantastic job.” De Vries now appears to be a top contender for a seat in F1 in 2023, and according to Hill that is more than justified.

"I know he had grid penalties and stuff like that, which helped him up the grid, but he still delivered in qualifying and didn’t really make a mistake. He’s done enough for us to be talking about him, he’s got Toto [Wolff] talking about him. That’s what you need to do to become a Formula 1 driver", says the Briton.