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Williams wants to wait: 'If De Vries makes choice before then, so be it'

Williams wants to wait: 'If De Vries makes choice before then, so be it'

03-10-2022 17:24 Last update: 18:52
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Williams recently announced it will not renew Nicholas Latifi's contract. The Grove-based racing stable has several names on the list of possible replacements, but a quick decision is not imminent. According to the team boss, it could take another two months to contract the second driver for 2023.

In an interview with the German N-TV Indeed, Jost Capito explains that, among other things, it wants to wait for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Formula 2 runs its final weekend there and only there will it become clear whether Williams junior Logan Sargeant has enough points for his F1 superlicence. Sargeant needs to finish in the top-four of the F2 standings. He is currently third, but the difference with number seven Liam Lawson, for example, is only 12 points.

Schumacher and De Vries also options

"Probably it will be decided for us after the season. I think it will be shortly after Abu Dhabi or a week or two after that," Capito said. Sargeant is one of Williams' options for next season. So is Mick Schumacher. The German is still under contract with Haas F1, but they do not seem to have decided there yet whether to offer him a new contract.

Capito sees potential in Schumacher. "Mick is an option, he also deserves to stay in Formula 1. Whether that will happen, we will see, but he is definitely an option for us." Nyck de Vries is also still on the list, but Williams knows he will prove difficult to achieve. "That's not just down to us, other teams' interest in Nyck is also relatively high. We have to see how he decides. We can't and won't decide now. If he chooses another team before then, so be it."

Hülkenberg not an option

Another driver frequently linked with a return to Formula 1 is Nico Hülkenberg. Haas F1 appears to be interested in the services of the German driver who last completed a full season in the premier class of motorsport in 2019. At least for Williams, Hülkenberg is not an option. Capito states that he is not on the list and that there is no contact with him at the moment.