Thierry Neuville’s rally included many different phases, and in the end the Belgian finished fifth overall in Monte Carlo. He picked up ten WRC points.
Neuville said after the rally that the event turned out to be just as difficult as he had expected beforehand.
“I already said before the rally that I still don’t feel very confident with the car, and there is still a lot of work to be done. That is currently my biggest concern, more than the performance of the car itself,” Neuville said.
“I know that when you can drive flat out, we are closer to the front, but right now that is not possible, especially in these tricky conditions, Neuville said.
However, Neuville was quick to shift his focus forwards.
“The weekend was really difficult for us, but we finished fifth, scored points for the championship and move on,” he stated.
The conditions at Rally Monte Carlo caught many experienced drivers out this year. The same was true for Neuville.
“Personally, this was the most difficult Rally Monte Carlo I have ever driven. In terms of conditions, we saw everything possible. There was ice on the stages on all four days, but the fact that I couldn’t get the right feeling from the car made the rally significantly more difficult than it would otherwise have been,” Neuville explained.
“I lost control of the car on several occasions. The weekend was not enjoyable and naturally ended in disappointment, even though we were able to make some improvements during the rally,” he continued.
Neuville nevertheless stressed that the issue now lies more between the steering wheel and the seat than with the car itself.
“If the feeling is there and I can get the car working better with the tyres, then we can get much closer than we are at the moment”.
