F3 – Bitter race at Mugello for Nicholas Latifi

Arrived at Mugello circuit, which host the third round of the Italian F3 European Series and the starting race of the tricolour series, determined to get good results just after being on the verge of the podium in Hungary and performing at a high level during test days on Vallelunga and Imola tracks, Nicholas Latifi left Mugello with the awareness of having moved great steps forward but also conscious that his results haven’t been as good as he deserved.

Through the Tuscan track’s ups and downs, the 16-year-old Canadian driver of the JD Motorsport team has shown the progression he had already shown in the previous races, making his performance level being closer and closer to top drivers and improving his chronos after each session. At the end of the second qualifying turn, Nicholas gets a very good 1’40”714, only 5 dec. far from the pole. After being placed eighth at the end of race-1, in the second race Nicholas fights hand in hand with his rivals and powerfully places inside the top five.
A car collision during the race forces him to make an unscheduled pit stop to replace the damaged front wing, compromising his final result.
Nicholas Latifi: “I was very confident going into the Mugello weekend and building on the great performance we had in Hungaroring in the last race and our performances in the vallelunga and Imola test days. I was happy with my progression in the car at Mugello, however in 2 of the races contact with another car ended both my races. I ran as high as 5th place in race 2 and was happy with my times narrowing the gap between myself and the top runners. I am looking forward to the next round in Misano and to continue to improve with each event.”
David Tennyson (driver coach): “Nicholas has continued to develop his skills and speed in Formula 3 with each race weekend. The Mugello event was a tough weekend as a result of a couple of race incidents, however I was very pleased with Nicholas driving and progression in the car. His performance in race 2 demonstrated his ability to run in the top 5 and set the 5th fastest lap of the race before having to pit to replace his front wing, ruining a solid top 5 performance.”
Next race will take place on July the 8th at Misano’s circuit, just on that track which was named after the late Marco Simoncelli.