The pair collided early in the race when Latifi moved across on Zhou, with the contact ending the Alfa Romeo driver’s race on the spot.
Latifi picked up a puncture and after making it back to the pits he was forced to retire with suspension damage.
The stewards reviewed the incident during the race and determined that Latifi had not left a car’s width and was predominantly responsible for causing a collision. He was given a five-place penalty for this weekend’s Japanese GP, and two penalty points.
Latifi was disappointed that despite both drivers involved having retired the stewards made a quick decision and did not summon either man to discuss the incident.
After the race he visited them in race control order to find out more about the decision.
"I’m obviously disappointed not to do all the laps,” he told Autosport.
“I briefly went to see the stewards just because they made the decision without talking to the drivers, which I found a bit strange.
"Especially because both of us were out of the race and there was no rush to make the decision, and normally when that happens they always speak to both drivers.”
Photo by: Carl Bingham / Motorsport Images
Latifi said he took his normal line, but acknowledged that he hadn’t left a car’s width. However he insisted that he couldn’t see Zhou.
"The rule is obviously leave the car's space, which I obviously didn't. I looked at the replay, that line where I was exiting wide from Turn 3 and then cutting back to the braking, I was doing that every other lap of the race.
“And the problem was he was driving perfectly in my blind spot at the exit. I did look both directions in the mirrors, you see it on my onboard, I look left, I look right, and I didn't see him.
“If I don't see where he is, I just take my normal line. So yes, if you're going based off that rule, leaving the space, I understand why they gave me a penalty.
“The only thing is I think Zhou should have been more aware of that, he knows there's a blind spot with these cars. He was very much on the inside of me, perfectly in the blind spot. So again, I didn't pick an erratic line, that's the line I was always taking.”
“I'm not so frustrated about the penalty even if they arrive at that, but the fact that they didn't want to speak about it. And is it the right penalty?
“Because they gave me a five-place penalty, which is what they gave [Valtteri] Bottas for going bowling with other cars in Hungary last year, which is far worse than a one-on-one crash.
"Anytime there's been a one-on-one crash it's a three-place penalty.”
Latifi said his informal visit to the stewards wasn’t very productive as they were still busy with the Sergio Perez safety car incident.
“I just wanted to have a talk to them about taking these things into consideration. The drivers are always complaining about consistency. Arrive at the same conclusion and penalise me that's fine, but why not at least speak to both drivers like you do 99% of other instances?
“They were in the midst of the whatever happened with Red Bull. So I didn't fully have the time to show them the video and whatnot. Again, they should have called us officially to the stewards and spoken to both of us. And obviously that wasn't the case.”
FIA delays release of F1 cost cap certificates until Monday
Vettel would "seriously consider" chance for one-off F1 return at Suzuka
Alpine hopes Gasly and Ocon will rekindle friendship as F1 team-mates
De Vries lands full-time F1 drive with AlphaTauri for 2023
Hamilton's first experience of turning silver into gold
Why Latifi’s F1 career deserved better than becoming an internet meme
The under-fire F1 driver fighting for his future
Latifi hoping F1 British GP Q3 performance not just a “flash”
Pain-free Albon "fit as I can be" for Singapore F1 return
Albon prepared for Singapore F1 return after missing Monza
How de Vries' overdue F1 debut proved him worthy of a 2023 drive
F1 qualifying results: Max Verstappen takes Japanese GP pole
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen took pole position for the Japanese Grand Prix, the 18th round of the 2022 F1 World Championship.
F1 Japanese GP: Verstappen shades Leclerc to pole by 0.01s, amid Norris block review
Max Verstappen hung on to narrowly claim pole position for Formula 1’s 2022 Japanese Grand Prix over Charles Leclerc but the Red Bull driver faces a stewards' investigation.
Bathurst 1000 Top 10 Shootout cancelled due to torrential rain
The Top 10 Shootout for the Bathurst 1000 has been cancelled due to torrential rain at Mount Panorama.
Why Red Bull freedom and an Alpine switch can define Gasly's F1 career
After seemingly being stuck in limbo at AlphaTauri - too good to let go, but not a realistic prospect for a Red Bull return - Pierre Gasly has finally shaken off the shackles to join Alpine. A fresh start at the French team should do Gasly the world of good, but he must adapt quickly. Oh, and work with a team-mate with whom he's had a fractious relationship...
Why Red Bull freedom and an Alpine switch can define Gasly's F1 career
After seemingly being stuck in limbo at AlphaTauri - too good to let go, but not a realistic prospect for a Red Bull return - Pierre Gasly has finally shaken off the shackles to join Alpine. A fresh start at the French team should do Gasly the world of good, but he must adapt quickly. Oh, and work with a team-mate with whom he's had a fractious relationship...
The relaxed home life that helps F1’s Danish superstar to deliver
The unrelenting grasp of the tax man prompts most racing drivers to move to the likes of Monaco, Switzerland or Dubai. But, as OLEG KARPOV found out, Kevin Magnussen is quite happy where he is, thank you very much – at home, with his family, in Denmark
How Perez has shown what many F1 drivers need from the 2022 season run-in
OPINION: Sergio Perez’s Singapore triumph arrested a big decline in his Formula 1 performances against Max Verstappen at Red Bull since his Monaco win. He now needs to maintain his form to the season’s end, while others are also seeking a change in fortunes
How the FIA should punish any breaches of the F1 cost cap
OPINION: On Wednesday, the FIA will issue F1 teams with compliance certificates if they stuck to the 2021 budget cap. But amid rumours of overspending, the governing body must set a critical precedent. It needs to carefully pick between revisiting the bitterness of Abu Dhabi, a contradictory punishment and ensuring parity for the rest of the ground-effect era
Singapore Grand Prix Driver Ratings 2022
A testing return to the Singapore Grand Prix in tricky conditions created plenty of hazards and mistakes for the Formula 1 drivers to fall into. That partly explains a number of low scores, including from a handful of high profile runners, allowing others to take a starring role under the floodlights
The two key contributors to Leclerc's defeat to Perez in F1's 2022 Singapore GP
In a marathon Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix, Sergio Perez’s victory was only assured hours after the race due to a stewards investigation. Throughout the contest the Red Bull driver impressively held off Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in changing conditions to see the Mexican pull out enough of an advantage to negate his post-race penalty
The time-honoured manufacturer model that can't apply to all F1 teams
What happens, asks MATT KEW, if the old adage of win on a Sunday, sell on a Monday is no longer true for F1 manufacturers?
Why is Oscar Piastri F1's most sought-after rookie?
The Australian rising star is fast, consistent, confident, adaptable and has shown excellent racecraft, but there’s already a taint to his reputation. That hasn’t stopped him becoming the hottest property in this year’s F1 driver market and why McLaren moved fast to snap up the 21-year-old