F1: Why Williams should replace Kubica with Latifi

Back in January, I wrote a piece about why Robert Kubica would succeed on his return to Formula 1 at Williams, but since then, the hype around his comeback has significantly diminished. While Mercedes have broken records with the best start to an F1 season in the history of the sport at the front, Williams are conversely and depressingly enduring their worst ever campaign at the back. The FW42 had a troubled start to life by missing out on most of pre-season testing in Barcelona, and has continued this poor form by being the only car to not score a point so far in 2019. With that being said, Kubica has still been a disappointment, and here's why the veteran might find him replaced by mid-season.

Performance Relative to Russell

It's blatantly clear which Williams driver is fastest five rounds into the season.

I stated that although I expected Kubica to do well on his F1 return, I also foresaw George Russell giving his more experienced teammate a run for his money over the whole season, especially early on. However, despite Russell being in his rookie season, the Mercedes development driver has outclassed Kubica in the opening five rounds of the campaign. The only true measure of how a driver is performing, is to compare the results against his teammate, because he is the only driver with identical machinery. This is even more the case than usual with Williams this year, as they only currently have themselves to compete against at the moment, such is their deficit to the rest of the field.

Russell has out-qualified Kubica at all of the rounds so far this season and it's been the exact same story during the race. Although Russell has had to overtake his teammate sometimes, (due to grid penalties) it's looked like an easy task to do so, with no sign of team orders. Whatsmore, the gap in qualifying has been 0.7 seconds on average, a yawning chasm by any measure. If a less popular driver such as Lance Stroll had this kind of record, fans would be calling for his head, and rightfully so.

Latifi is in fantastic form

Nicholas Latifi currently leads the Formula 2 championship.

It's clear to see that Kubica isn't performing as good as he could be, but there's no point giving the Pole the axe if a suitable replacement isn't available. However, unfortunately for Robert, such a driver exists, and he's already employed by Williams. 23-year-old Nicholas Latifi of Canada is currently leading the Formula 2 championship (Formula 1's direct feeder series) after the opening three rounds of the 2019 season. With three victories and a further podium in the first six races of this year's feeder series, Latifi is proving himself to be in with a shout of a F1 seat in 2020, but the youngster could find himself in a Grand Prix seat earlier than that.

Latifi is Williams' official test and reserve driver after previously being with the Force India team in 2018, so he has experience in an F1 car and, perhaps more importantly, the FW42. However, with the new superlicence rules in place, Latifi may not be able to compete in Formula 1 until he wins the Formula 2 championship, as he's lacking the points to enter the pinnacle of motorsport.

Williams have nothing to lose at this point

Williams

are

now the slowest team in F1 and require a lot of luck to be in the points.

Despite Williams being one of the most successful teams in the history of Formula 1, and producing some of the best cars ever seen, they're now the back-markers of the sport. It's a sorry sight to say the least and while there are 16 rounds still remaining, it's hard to see them scoring a point at this rate, let alone finishing anywhere but tenth in the constructor's championship.

Realistically, Williams' only chance of making tangible gains on the midfield are the regulation changes ahead of the 2021 season, after all, that's how they became one of the front-runners for 2014. However, this isn't a sure-fire way to improve their fortunes, as the major changes ahead of 2017 didn't help them, nor have the new front wings for this season. In short, Williams have some fundamental problems that only a huge slice of luck or a massive investment will solve, so why not prepare Latifi for a Formula 1 drive by giving him more time in the car. You'd expect Latifi to get some track time in Canada, and like Valtteri Bottas in 2012, this will at least get him prepared for his rookie season the upcoming year.

But what do you think Williams should do with Kubica? Should they sack him or give him more time in their car? Let us know in the comments below!