Fourmaux made his breakthrough in the WRC last year, delivering a promising season with M-Sport’s Ford.
Last season, Fourmaux impressively reached the podium five times, and his strong performances also caught Hyundai’s attention. Eventually, Hyundai decided to offer the French driver a full-time seat for the season.
Fourmaux started his season excellently. He finished third at the season-opening Rally Monte Carlo and was the best performer from his team.
Since then, things have been more difficult for Fourmaux. At Rally Sweden in February, his event turned into a nightmare. His helmet straps were left undone, and he ended up in a snowbank. On top of that, Fourmaux received a €10,000 fine for commenting on the weekend’s events in a manner the FIA considered too outspoken.
Safari Rally Kenya followed the same trend for him. In Kenya, Fourmaux retired three times, but ultimately managed to bring home a solid ten WRC points on Sunday.
“I think we are coming out of three very different rallies, with very specific and challenging conditions. I think those were probably the trickiest conditions for our car in terms of competitiveness – especially with the changing grip,” Hyundai team principal Cyril Abiteboul commented.
“Which is something Ott (Tänak) has complained a lot about. So, I think we are yet to see the true potential of our car in more straightforward conditions,” Abiteboul continued.
However, Abiteboul did not give Fourmaux a free pass. The Frenchman needs to do better going forward.
“Having said that, I think Adrien also needs to become a bit more realistic about certain circumstances. For example, in Sweden, he lost some time due to a helmet issue and was probably trying to recover a bit too quickly,” Abiteboul said directly.
“Same thing in Kenya with the tyres – being a bit too optimistic, thinking the set would last until the end. It’s okay. We need to move on from that,” Abiteboul added.
Toyota has so far dominated the WRC season. The Japanese manufacturer has three wins from three rallies. However, Abiteboul is not particularly worried just yet.
“Now, we need to dust ourselves off, stay patient, keep our heads down, stay calm and stay focussed. I believe he has what it takes to be a great driver and to help us fulfil our mission for this year.”
