Munster endured a modest season in the WRC, and his performances drew consistent criticism.
The scrutiny intensified further as Munster’s teammate at M-Sport, Adrien Fourmaux, who is moving to Hyundai next season, made a significant breakthrough, achieving five podium finishes during the year.
Despite this, M-Sport announced in December that Munster will remain with the team for the upcoming season. Competing under the Luxembourg flag, Munster is set to drive in all 14 events of next year’s WRC calendar with an M-Sport car.
M-Sport team principal Richard Millener acknowledged the challenges Munster faced but firmly defended his driver.
“It would be very easy to judge Gregoire and say he’s not fast enough,” Millener said after the season concluded.
“But actually, over the course of the season, he has proven he’s able to set stage times within the top five and, on some rallies, even the top three. That’s quite an achievement, considering most of these rallies were ones where he had zero experience,” Millener emphasised.
While Munster faced criticism, Martins Sesks, who participated in just three rallies with M-Sport’s Rally1 car, received almost unanimous praise. The comparison between the two created a somewhat unfair dynamic.
“And I think when you look at what we did with Martins in Chile, he made a mistake on the very first day, which cost him a lot of time and seat time in the car. You shouldn’t judge a person’s character just based on one or two rallies,” Millener pointed out.
“I’m not saying Martins isn’t fast enough, but if you look at Gregoire’s performance over the course of the season, it’s a very different approach,” Millener continued.
Following Munster’s contract renewal, M-Sport announced that Irishman Josh McErlean would drive the team’s second car next season. The news surprised many, as it was widely assumed that Martins Sesks would secure the second seat at M-Sport.
