F1’s Nicholas Latifi hired bodyguards in London due to ‘extreme death threats’

Formula One driver Nicholas Latifi has revealed he took the drastic step of hiring personal bodyguards on a trip to London after threats were made against his life following the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

The Canadian received a torrent of online abuse after his crash resulted in a late safety car which contributed to Lewis Hamilton losing the world championship.

And Latifi (26) said the abuse was so extreme that he took out personal security on a visit to Hyde Park’s Winter Wonderland with his model girlfriend Sandra Dziwiszek.

A message from me after the events of Abu Dhabi https://t.co/uYj7Ct6ANQ pic.twitter.com/eThFec8nAi

— Nicholas Latifi (@NicholasLatifi) December 21, 2021

“It sounds silly to some people but at the end of the day, you don’t know how serious people are,” said Latifi.

“All it needs is one drunk fan at an airport, or you bump into someone who is having a bad day and they are intoxicated under the influence of something and they have these really extreme opinions. It takes just that one-in-a-million person.

“I was back in London after the race and I had security with me when I went to Winter Wonderland with my girlfriend.

New car also means new threads