Ott Tanak will be able to fight “without having their hands tied” at Rally Japan, which will decide who will be the world rally champion, according to Cyril Abiteboulteam leader Hyundai.
The drivers' and manufacturers' titles will be decided this weekend in the final round of the season, with the first being contested between two Hyundai teammates, Thierry Neuville and Tanak.
As of now, Neuville has 25 points more than the 2019 champion and is the favorite to win his first world title, as the Belgian only needs six points. This will be the first time that Hyundai has won a championship with one of its drivers.
Although Tanak's chances of winning a second title are slim, Abiteboul says his drivers are free to fight.. But the Frenchman stresses the need for Hyundai to maintain its advantage over or 15 points, to seal his first constructor's crown since the 2020 season.
“I think Thierry, and we can all understand this, will have a naturally reasonable approach because he has everything to lose from his point of view,” Abiteboul said. . “But on Ott's side it's the opposite; he has nothing to lose and so I hope and I look forward to seeing him in action without having his hands tied to anything, so it will be interesting to see him. He knows we need him for the constructors' championship, so it's going to be an interesting dynamic.
“Of course [Ott puede luchar]but let's look at the difference. He's quite big, so Thierry should have big problems with Ott becoming a threat to him. This is why Thierry will ensure that he goes through the stages without major problems,” he added.
Podium: Ott Tänak, Martin Järveoja, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1
Photo by: Austral / Hyundai Motorsport
Looking ahead to the event in Japan, Neuville said his championship lead was 'comfortable'but admitted that he would need find the right balance with his drive to win the title and in turn help Hyundai take the manufacturers' crown.
“It's a comfortable advantage; worst case scenario we have to score six points,” Neuville told Motorsport.com. “In any other scenario, we’re pretty good.”
“We have to find the right balance because we still have to fight for the constructors' title and yet we have this third car with Andreas Mikkelsen it will do for everything. We have to find a good balance between a little irregular driving but good driving.”
For his part, Tanak believes there is little he can do to take the title from his teammate.
“I don’t know what difference we can make, but we will do our best,” Tanak said. “But with this rating system, there is not much difference. It's true [que una retirada puede cambiar las cosas]“I guess it depends on how hard Thierry pushes.”
“If he is smart in Japan and does a good job, then no one has a chance. But we also have the responsibility for the constructors' championship. We still have a lot of work ahead of us, so we can't just focus For the drivers' title, we are also responsible for the team,” he concluded.
Thierry Neuville, Martijn Wydaeghe, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1
Photo by: Austral / Hyundai Motorsport
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