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When Nicolas Latifi crashed in the final stages of the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, he played an inadvertent role in deciding that year’s winner.
After the safety car came out, Max Verstappen could pit for new tires, while Lewis Hamilton stayed on the old tires. This gave Verstappen the chance to attack him in the final lap of the shootout to seal the title.
Latifi recently recalled the incident Beyond the grid Podcast that explains how he drives his normal race to try and get the most out of the weekend.
“I’m fighting Mick for a spot away from the points. I think that’s one of the most important things I want to ring out to all the racing fans,” he said.
“Actually, whether I race for P20, P19, points or podiums. We only had enough cars to race in those positions that day.
“If I didn’t play and try to get every little thing, Williams probably wouldn’t be in the game. So it’s obviously a stupid attitude, but it’s just the public perception.”
Latifi was later accused by fans on social media of deliberately crashing the car and helping Verstappen win his first title, with the Canadian revealing he had received death threats and had to carry personal safety in the weeks following the race.
“Consequences are definitely not a good thing. It’s just the ugly side of social media today. I don’t think it has anything to do with sport.
“It’s obviously a very high-profile event because of what ended up happening.
“It’s not just the game at the beginning of the year, but also the title race at the end of the year. It’s been a very exciting season for the fans, full of tension and emotion.”
Latifi: Abu Dhabi fallout shows dark side of social media
both Verstappen and Hamilton recently talked about how social media is toxic and its possible impact.
Latifi said he had to turn off social media on his phone in the days following Abu Dhabi, but was still abused when he returned.
“After about two or three days, I did delete social media from my phone, and then I slowly came back to it and I reinstalled the apps on my phone.
“I obviously have PR people helping me with my social media and stuff like that, and they have access to it. So I’m sure they’re cleaning it up as much as they can, like anyone would do in that situation.
“I heard a lot from them, obviously from family members who were still on social media afterwards. I noticed when I went back to social media I still saw all the online hate and abuse and that sort of thing .”
Despite a difficult start to the season, Latifi insists social media abuse has not affected his performance in 2022.
“I got over it pretty quickly, and it might have helped that the winter break followed,” he explained.
“There are other things that have had a knock-on effect on my confidence this year.
“I had a few other incidents at the beginning of the year that don’t help when you’re trying to build momentum.
“But I didn’t really carry anything else from Abu Dhabi from the year before.”
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