Nobody. At least that's what the Korean team's official line is.
There's been a fairly strong stream of comment in social media about the Hyundai decision, or perhaps indecision would be a better word, over its team hierarchy in 2016. In 2014 and 2015, Thierry Neuville was undoubtedly the lead driver going into each year, in line with his imminent superstardom and presumably the big bucks. Not this year though.
To briefly recap the already familiar saga, Neuville's 2015 saw him return a string of results that not only failed to match those of VW and Citroen lead drivers, but were also regularly worse than his own supposedly lesser teammates, Sordo and Paddon. In defending his performance, Thierry went public with pot-shots at his team for not delivering their next generation i20 on time, and his driver colleagues - primarily Hayden Paddon - who were routinely outshining him. Not a career-enhancing tactic by the Belgian.
That lack of circumspection and his curious petulance, combined with repeated statements that he wasn't concerned about his poor performances, have certainly combined to strip him of his previous undisputed leadership position and put his very presence in the Hyundai WRC programme in jeapordy.
Nobody at Hyundai nor at Thierry's management team have addressed this development specifically but there can be little doubt that Neuville will not be renewing with the Korean outfit in 2017. But is a parting of the ways really that likely? After all, with the new car and Thierry's need to get some decent results in 2016, there's an opportunity for him to re-boot his flagging WRC ranking and to battle for the Driver's Championship, with way less pressure than would be the case were he to be also carrying the burden of earning mega constructor points.
Well, logic suggests that even if he is wildly successful this season, it would simply make him a more attractive signing for Hyundai's competitors (Citroen or Toyota). And the probable damage that he has done within the wider Hyundai team combined with the enemies he has made there, make another contract driving the i20 a very unlikely prospect indeed.
So, Nandan and Penasse - neither being naive - will have no doubts that they're shopping for a new driver for 2017.
Taken in that light, the announcement from Hyundai that "there is no #1 driver" was probably the only practical way to resolve the current Neuville contract arrangement without major legal ramifications and even worse press than there has been already. A saving of face for Thierry; avoiding further bad publicity and possible legal issues for Hyundai Motorsport.
But the announcement that Dani Sordo is Hyundai Shell World Rally Team's nominated ten-round driver has presented some questions and in consequence, some likely answers.
Despite Hyundai's clear statement that there's no #1 driver in the WRC squad, Dani's nomination has made him, defacto, the team's new lead driver.
Even with Thierry's slump in form, he still finished higher than Dani in the drivers' rankings in WRC '15 - by a single point as it happens - and there is little likelihood that his salary for 2016 has been reduced, so why take the step of passing him over for nominated driver and annointing Dani for the role?
Who knows. But reading between the lines, there is a broad hint that Neuville will not be driving in the A team on an FIA-mandated minimum ten WRC rounds. Given the Belgian's acknowledged abilities on tarmac, then it seems safe to speculate that he will be entered in the A team on every sealed surface event - Monte Carlo, Corsica, Spain, Germany and China - as well as Sweden which is a unique surface, (and any other that the team bosses believe his record qualifies him for). But being pragmatic, from Hyundai's viewpoint, it should be safe to assume that Thierry will do six rounds in the A team; eight rounds in the B team.
Dani's performances on gravel in 2015 haven't hindered his stock with Nandan and Penasse at all, and it's difficult to make a case for the Spaniard doing any duty in the Mobius B team, so the most likely scenario is that Dani will compete solely in the A team, barring accident or illness, in all 14 rounds of WRC 2016.
That leaves Hayden Paddon. And since Hayden has shown a highly competitive turn of speed on the loose stuff, there's simply no chance the Nandan would not put him in the top team on all eight gravel events in 2016. So in effect, he'll swap cars with Thierry and drive the #10 machine in Sweden and all tarmac rounds. And yes, this is speculative, but there's no other probability that makes any sense.
Of course, things happen during a season, and form, illness and injury as well as judicial events can and often will make their unwelcome presence felt. But I'm confident that the plan for this season at Hyundai Motorsport looks remarkably like that outlined above.
Whatever happens, let's hope that Hyundai Shell World Rally Team give the Volkswagen boys a run for their money. They have themselves in the best place to do so starting in just a couple of weeks. Really looking forward to a thrilling season in WRC '16!
No comments:
Post a Comment