OGI ER HOLDS THE KEY TO THE 2018 TOP FLIGHT LINE-UPS
Shake-up at citroen mixes up the potential for next season
Kris Meeke’s departure from Citroen has kick-started the World Rally Championship’s driver market, with all four teams in fresh negotiations for next season.
Of the 12 factory seats potentially available, only Toyota’s Ott Tanak and Hyundai man Andreas Mikkelsen are tied down for the 2019 season, and both remain with their current employer.
As has been the case for the last two years, the market will pivot around world champion Sebastien Ogier. In the second of two single-season deals with M-sport Ford World Rally Team, the Frenchman admitted it would take a lot to get him out of the Ford Fiesta WRC.
“I’m happy with where I am at, I always said that,” Ogier told MN. “Everything is going in the direction I want it to at M-sport. We are progressing and when it’s like this you could say there is no reason to change. Let’s say this: I would really need a very convincing offer to move, because I’m happy where I am.”
Ogier did, however, caution against automatically including him in next year’s driver market, adding: “Who knows if I am here next year? That’s another question; I said sometimes already that this [retirement] is an option.”
Ogier’s team principal Malcolm Wilson said he would be doing all he could to keep his champion in the same seat for 2019.
“There’s going to be interest in Sebastien from the other teams, we know that,” said Wilson, “but if we can give him what he wants, I see no reason [why he’d leave]. I think he’s happy here, he’s quite keen to stay and as long as we can make it work, we should be OK.”
Hyundai team manager Alain Penasse agreed that Ogier was the main player, with no team making a move until they knew which way the Gap star would jump.
“Sebastien holds the keys to this, of course he does,” said Penasse. “Will we be talking to him? I cannot say we are not thinking about Sebastien Ogier. If you want to win the championship then you have to consider him as an option.
“Maybe we can expect movement in the market – only one driver [Ogier] has to move and the others are obliged to move.
“But if one will chose the same thing then it can be a bit boring again. If Sebastien Ogier goes to Citroen then a lot will move. If he stays, I think the others will stay also.”
M-sport Ford World Rally Team Current drivers: Sebastien Ogier, Elfyn Evans, Teemu Suninen
After five years of corporate comfort with Volkswagen, it was hard for some to see Sebastien Ogier fitting in quite so well at M-sport’s family oriented and largely private operation. In reality, Ogier is just as happy – if not happier – than he’s ever been.
Recently married, and with his twoyear-old son, being away from home is harder than ever for Ogier and not having the usual manufacturer PR commitments makes it easier for the champion to arrive at a WRC round on a Monday night and fly out immediately after the finish on Sunday. A move to a brand like Hyundai, Citroen or Toyota would mean an unwanted move back to a rather more onerous PR schedule.
On top of that, he’s got a car which works for him and a team which is moulded completely around him.
If Malcolm Wilson can pull the required millions out of the hat, it’s hard to see Ogier going anywhere.
Wilson has an option on both Evans and Suninen for next season.
“If those two guys keep progressing then I really wouldn’t see the need to change anything and we can have a strong team for next season,” said Wilson. “The target for next year is the same as this year, I would like to keep everything as it is – there’s a lot to be said for continuity. But, like I said, we need to see progression from Elfyn and Teemu.”
The plan would be to run Suninen in a factory Fiesta WRC on all rounds next year.
Hyundai Motorsport Current drivers:thierry Neuville, Andreas Mikkelsen, Hayden Paddon, Dani Sordo Behind Ogier, championship frontrunner Neuville is the man of most interest to the teams. The Belgian told MN his focus remained on the rest of this season, but added his future would become clear if he finished Rally Australia at the top of the table.
He said: “My priority is first to win the championship with Hyundai and obviously from there on we have to look. But what is pretty sure is that, if we are able to achieve our goal this year with Hyundai, I think everything is becoming clear…”
Paddon is determined to return to a full-time programme next season and demand for him will be defined by the second half of 2018 – which is where most of his events fall. Sordo was linked to a move to rallycross earlier in the season, but he made it clear to MN that he wanted to remain in rallying. Of Sordo and Paddon, the Spaniard would likely be the more content with a repeat of the split programme in 2019 – something Hyundai has already admitted could happen.
Hyundai is one of the squads which has expressed an interest in talking to Kris Meeke since his departure from Citroen, along with Toyota. Team head Penasse told MN: “He’s a guy who will win two rallies every season, so he has to be on the list. Whether you take him from the list is another question…”
Toyota Gazoo Racing Current drivers: Jari-matti Latvala, Ott Tanak, Esapekka Lappi
Both Finns in this Finnish-based team are understood to be under pressure to keep their seats next season. After a solid start to his time with Toyota last year, Latvala has struggled since the arrival of Tanak this year, but he remains determined to maintain his full-time professional presence in the WRC for a 13th consecutive season.
“I am happy now since the start of this programme,” Latvala said. “I always love to drive in this team, with the heritage and everything. And the car is fast, normally it takes time to build this speed, if you look at Hyundai then you can see that they have taken four years to become so competitive – this is only our second year. There’s so much potential with this team and I would really like to stay, but first we need to get some results.
“It’s going to be interesting to see what happens [with the driver market], there’s now a position open at Citroen; I’m sure Mads is already negotiating with them and then there’s the question about will they run three cars next season? But for me, I want to stay.”
The response was similar from Lappi, who added: “Why would I change? If I can continue here, for sure I would like to. It’s early in the season, but you need to think about these things. You never know what’s coming. I think I still have to learn. Maybe Mr Loeb was a little bit different, but normally the drivers develop step-by-step and maybe I’m a work in progress.”
Citroen Racing Current drivers: Craig Breen, Mads Ostberg, Sebastien Loeb, Khalid Al Qassimi
Citroen is the team with the most pressing need to source a new driver following Meeke’s exit.
The obvious answer would be to keep Ostberg in the car for the remainder of the year. He’s a former employee who knows the engineers and, after three events this year, knows the C3 WRC too.
Looking into next season, Ogier is likely to get a call from Budar sooner rather than latter.
Budar said: “Everybody is interested in Sebastien Ogier and we would be very pleased to see him in Citroen with us again. He started with us, his career in rallying and it would be very nice to see him here. He is French, we are a French team, it could be a nice story also – but this is not the only consideration we have.”
Overlooked by Citroen for the last two seasons, Ogier is understandably sore with his former employer – particularly after PSA CEO Carlos Tavares told the world the five-time champion wasn’t needed by Citroen at the start of this year.
As Ogier said, it would take a significant offer to tempt him back.
Breen’s stock is high with the team and especially with Budar, with whom he has forged a close and strong working relationship since Budar replaced Yves Matton at the start of the season.
“My focus is on doing the best job I can for this year,” Breen told MN. “That’s all I can do.”
Al Qassimi returns for a limited programme later in the year, with the Abu Dhabi backing he brings.