The International Automobile Federation (FIA) and the WRC announced in June that hybrid units will not be abandoned after this season, and the current Rally1 cars will be used until the end of the current homologation period, which is until the end of 2026.
The FIA announced in February that the current hybrid units would be abandoned after this season. The decision immediately sparked criticism. Now, however, the World Rally Championship and the FIA have made a complete U-turn.
They listened to the opinions of manufacturers and drivers and decided to pull the handbrake. Although the dithering has looked a bit comical to outsiders, M-Sport Ford team principal Richard Millener sees something good in the fuss.
“With everything that has been done recently, one thing I can say that despite a lot of this not being what the teams wanted and wasting a lot of resource, we can’t argue that it didn’t put a rocket up the back of the championship,” Millener told Motorsport.com.
“We now have a lot of movement, some strategies, some goals and a lot of talks. We know what is coming. The Promoter has told us their bit and the FIA has told us their bit”, Millener continued.
According to Millener, the rule confusion was perfect for stirring things up and has consequently got everyone discussing the future of the World Rally Championship.
“We need to keep that momentum going and I’m not sure we would have had that without some of what was discussed and put forward (by the FIA) and it has made everyone work together to get that going, so that is a positive”, Millener appreciated.
