WRC team boss reveals – the radical change brings significant savings

Hybrid units will be removed from the World Rally Championship next season.
Richard Millener
Richard Millener. Photo: M-Sport Ford WRT
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The removal of hybrid units has been welcomed, particularly by M-Sport, which has been in favour of their discontinuation. As a private team, M-Sport has faced significant costs associated with hybrids.

M-Sport’s team principal, Richard Millener, shared that the team can save a considerable amount of money next season without hybrid units.

“It’s a cost to be saved,” Millener said with satisfaction.

“If we had been able to continue using the hybrids as we did until mid-last season, it would have been nice to keep them,” Millener added.

“I still believe it’s a valid powertrain for production cars, and its popularity seems to be growing. Maintaining that connection would have been great, but it wasn’t feasible for the team,” Millener stated.

When the decision was made to abandon hybrids, the announcement suggested that this would be a somewhat temporary solution. Millener, however, is sceptical of this claim.

“As for the press release, I don’t fully agree with its wording. What’s referred to as a “pause” feels more like a long-term or even permanent decision. Maybe not forever, but certainly for a very long time,” Millener said.

The removal of hybrids will require teams to make minor adjustments to their cars for next season. However, Millener noted that the overall costs would remain low.

“Overall, the costs are minimal. It should be relatively straightforward. I think the biggest challenge next year will be the tyres and related aspects, which will likely pose a steeper learning curve than the removal of the hybrids,” Millener explained.

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