Williams has announced that Nicholas Latifi and Alex Albon will form its driver line-up for the 2022 season.

Latifi remains at the team for a fourth consecutive season, his third as race driver, whilst Albon returns to the grid having spent a year as Red Bull's Test & Reserve Driver and a race-winning campaign in the DTM. The 25-year-old previously drove for Toro Rosso before being promoted to a race seat with Red Bull, scoring two podiums in 2020.

"It is fantastic to be able to confirm our driver line-up for 2022," said Jost Capito, CEO of Williams Racing, "and I am delighted to be welcoming Alex to the team, along with confirming our continued relationship with Nicholas into next year. We are extremely excited by our new line-up, with both drivers bringing a great blend of youth and experience that will not only be a great fit for the team but also help us take the next step in our journey.

"Alex is one of the most exciting young talents in motorsport, yet comes with a large amount of F1 experience from his time at Red Bull. His multiple podium finishes highlight his speed as a driver, and we know he will immediately feel at home with the team at Grove. Nicholas meanwhile has consistently impressed us over the past three years with his hard work, diligence, and positive attitude. He has continued to develop throughout his time at Williams and has grown into an impressive F1 driver, as seen by his points scoring finishes this season.

"We are now looking forward to continuing to build on our positive momentum as a team and finishing this season as strongly as possible, before turning our attentions to 2022."

"I'm excited to be continuing with Williams for another year," said Latifi, "partly because of F1's new technical regulations, but also because the team is moving in a more competitive direction with new owners, management and people on the technical side.

"I've felt at home here since the day I arrived, and I think I'm in the right place to continue with my positive trajectory. The aim is to continue making little improvements so we can all take advantage of the opportunity we have next year.

"I'm super excited to work with next year's car and it's like a fresh start for everybody. I feel privileged to be part of that change."

"I am really excited and looking forward to returning to a Formula One race seat in 2022," said Albon. "When you take a year out of F1 it's never certain you will make a return so I'm extremely thankful to Red Bull and Williams for believing in me and helping me on my journey back to the grid. It's also been great to see all the progress Williams have been making as a team this year and I look forward to helping them continue that journey in 2022. My focus now returns to my Test & Reserve Driver role at Red Bull and helping the team fight for this year's world championship."

With a stellar record in the junior categories, including multiple race wins in the GP3 Series and the FIA Formula Two Championship, Albon is one of the most highly rated young talents in motorsport. The Thai-British racer also knows his new team-mate well having previously raced alongside the Canadian at DAMS during his 2018 Formula Two campaign.

Latifi meanwhile has continued to impress in his first three seasons with Williams, contributing to the team's improved performance with his detailed feedback and motivated approach. The 26-year-old scored his first points in this year's Hungarian Grand Prix, before adding to his tally at the Belgian Grand Prix.

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by kenji, 10/09/2021 2:55

"@MadMatt...Many thanks for the DR heads up. I did check it out and it is, as you say, a fair summary. The issue has been addressed by Stella and it's quite clear that the issue is not a simple one and McLaren have not been able to give him a car that he can drive to the limit. One can only hope for everyone's sake that the '22 car is devoid of these rather strange aero compromises and that he gets a car that he can both drive and produce the results that we all know he's capable of. "

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2. Posted by C5, 08/09/2021 21:54

"I'm not completely sold on his abilities beyond solid midfielder, but this is a good test of how good he really is. By the end of the season he'd better be whipping Latifi's posterior the same way Russel has done if he's going to maintain hope of moving into the sharp end of the field again."

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3. Posted by Wokingchap, 08/09/2021 16:09

"It'll be great to see him return to F1, he sure deserves it."

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4. Posted by Mad Matt, 08/09/2021 14:06

"I'm glad he's back too, he's a quick driver, it's just a shame the way things worked out at Red Bull and he was unlucky with Lewis's clumsiness robbing him of results when he most needed them. I don't think there was anything intentional... just a bit of bad luck. Anyway, I look forward to seeing him next year.

@Kenji: We were discussing Daniel Ricardo's struggles at McLaren a week or so ago. I found this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KNh7uMx6_c which seemed interesting and fair. There's an interesting comment by FormulaUR too, although I'm not sure I 100% agree with him."

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5. Posted by kenji, 08/09/2021 13:01

"That's good news. Glad to hear that Albon is back racing. Not only is he an excellent racer but is very fast with it and he's a nice guy to round things off. Pity that Hamilton took him out twice when the lad was in the running for podiums but he'll have learnt from that and maybe we'll see some payback.....Well done Alex, time to show them what you've got, again. At least Red Bull kept their word and did the right thing."

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Official: Albon joins Latifi at Williams in 2022

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