Nicholas Latifi was "affected" by Abu Dhabi backlash before career change
Former Williams F1 driver Nicholas Latifi has announced a shock career change, moving away from motorsport to go back to school for an MBA at London Business School.
The Canadian, 28, had three underwhelming seasons in the F1 while driving for Williams but his underperformance in the 2022 campaign before his departure was "affected" by death threats and abuse following his crash in the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, which caused the final lap world title shootout between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen.
Hamilton led and was on course to wrap up his eighth world title before Michael Masi mishandled the safety car situation, allowing Verstappen and Co to pass lapped cars to take his spot behind the Brit. The Dutchman went on to beat the Brit on the final lap on a fresh set of tyres, clinching his first F1 world title controversially.
Latifi caught heat online for crashing, being the target of vile abuse, which then Williams chief Jost Capito believes sucked all confidence out of his driver. "I'm sure it affected his driving after that," Capito told the High Performance podcast in Sept. 2022. "It would have affected my driving a lot, I am absolutely convinced of this."
Despite Williams' support of Latifi heading into the 2022 campaign the driver managed to score just two championship points and was ultimately replaced by F2 hotshot Logan Sargeant for the 2023 season. However, American Sargeant hasn't enjoyed much luck either, with the rookie yet to score a point this season, with teammate Alex Albon leading the charge up the grid for Williams.
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Latifi has now bid farewell to motorsport for the immediate future as he looks to tap into another one of his passions: Business. He will study for an MBA at London Business School and will start this August. "I decided very early on in the year that I wouldn't have any racing plans for 2023," he wrote in a statement on social media.
The Canadian's crash sparked the safety car controversy which saw Max Verstappen beat Lewis Hamilton to the world championship (Getty)"It definitely felt very strange not having the same routine I'd been in for over half my life. Knowing that I wouldn't be behind the wheel of a race car this year, I had obviously begun to think of what could be next for me, whether that involved racing or something completely different. I decided that for the immediate future, I wanted to take some time and pursue a different avenue and focus on another path.
"Growing up, I always had a keen interest in the world of business, and I always said it was something I would've studied at university had I not gone the racing route.
"With that in mind, and knowing I might be taking a break from racing, I decided that I want to pursue an MBA degree and focus on something that would transform the next phase of my life. An MBA was always something that I had contemplated doing post-racing life, even if that had been into my late 30s and early 40s."
Nicholas Latifi will study for an MBA at London Business School (Getty)Latifi continued: "This was not an easy process and took many months! Anyone who has experienced the journey of applying to a business school knows how difficult it can be.
"After a five-month journey from starting the process, I am pleased to say that my candidacy was accepted for a place in the MBA program at London Business School (LBS), which I will be starting in August of this year.
"This decision may seem surprising to a lot of people. Transitioning to a different racing category might have seemed the most obvious move. However, I knew there would always be a life post-racing at some point, and I decided that now might be a good time to prepare myself for that."
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