We can’t answer that one, but boy, wouldn’t it be great if Ogier was to about-turn on his decision to throttle back and commit fully for 2023? The new champion versus the eight-time master, across a full season rather than the rounds Ogier chooses to turn up for, could be just the boost this new hybrid era deserves. The WRC has been great this year – but Rovanperä just hasn’t been given enough of a hard time by his Toyota team-mates, including Elfyn Evans, who seems to have wilted a little in the new king’s searing afterglow.
“Yes, it’s been a difficult year for Elfyn,” admitted Lindström. “There were quite strong expectations from everybody, that you’ve been the [championship] runner-up two years in a row, so now it’s your turn. Unfortunately it doesn’t go that way automatically. That, together with quite a difficult start to the season for him – a few unfortunate retirements – makes it difficult to come back and be on the [highest] level.
“Obviously Kalle going up to the level he has is not easy for any of our drivers. You have to understand you have a competition inside your own team as well. But Elfyn has scored points for us and that’s the other side. You are happy to have the drivers’ title, but for us as a team, for Toyota, the manufacturers’ title is also important and to bring that home needs the support of all our drivers.”
Ogier showed his superiority on the asphalt of the Spanish hills
TGR
Instead of Evans, Rovanperä’s biggest challenger has been Ott Tänak, the 2019 champion who appears to have been rejuvenated this season – to a degree. His three victories for Hyundai, including a sensational defeat of Rovanperä in Finland, couldn’t mask his frustrations with life at the South Korean manufacturer. A pre-season management shake-up led to the departure of boss Andrea Adamo – the man who had hired him – and Hyundai’s relative lack of readiness for the hybrid era meant neither reliability nor performance was where it should have been at the start of the season. How the team has recovered to contend for wins, under deputy team principal Julian Moncet, deserves credit. But it’s not been enough for unsettled Tänak, and it didn’t help when the team refused to aid his long-shot title bid by choosing not to implement team orders when Neuville won the Acropolis in Greece. After weeks of rumour, Tänak confirmed his departure from Hyundai a year before his contract expires, after finishing fourth in Spain on Sunday night.
Where he goes next is crucial for the WRC – and he was giving no hint on Sunday. There’s talk of a sabbatical for the 35-year-old, but might he return to Toyota with whom he claimed his title three years ago? Team principal Jari-Matti Latvala points out he isn’t fully responsible for driver hirings, but the Finn has indicated he has little motivation to change the line-up he’s already got, given the double title success this year. So how about M-Sport’s Ford Puma? That might just be wishful thinking. Unlike the Toyota and Hyundai outfits, the Cumbrian team does not have the full weight of Ford manufacturer support and is commercially funded. It might not be able to afford Tänak – and that’s a shame. The new Puma is a rally winner, but only in Sébastien Loeb’s hands – the legend won the hybrid era opener in Monte Carlo back in January – and the team clearly needs a top-line star to bring out the best in the car. Sadly, Irishman Craig Breen, Frenchmen Adrien Fourmaux and Pierre-Louis Loubet, plus Brit Gus Greensmith don’t fit that bill on the evidence of 2022.
Where will Tanak turn next?
Hyundai
So without a fully committed Ogier and potentially Tänak sitting out the 2023 season, the WRC could well find itself in a crisis of top-line talent. Hell, perhaps 48-year-old Loeb should be talked into a full-time return… It doesn’t bode well for the series if we’re even suggesting such a thing, given the great man’s advanced age.
But without something drastic, who is going to step up and stop Rovanperä becoming the ‘new Sébastien’ and scorching to a string of world titles before he’s even 30? Neuville? How about Evans? Both can be near-unbeatable when everything falls their way, but they’ve both fallen short too often this season. The WRC has three great manufacturers and teams in the top hybrid Rally1 class and a decent field of mid-range talent. But it desperately needs a shot of someone special to bottle what we saw in Spain last weekend and keep it flowing through 2023 and beyond. So how about it, Monsieur Ogier? Forget about Le Mans. Stick to what you’re fantastic at – and give the new kid a proper headache.