Does anybody, can anybody, doubt Sébastien Ogier’s passion for the sport of rallying? No. You just can’t.
When Thursday comes, the nine-time world champion has one focus, one goal and one ambition: to win.
Yes, every driver is single-minded in the pursuit of success, but Ogier takes it to another level. And never should he apologize for that. He’s the ultimate competitor.
Come Sunday afternoon, he’s the ultimate human again.
In the heat of a battle which, for him, had already gone someway south after a first-stage puncture, Ogier found himself an opportunity to vent his frustration. While the sentiment, and the passion were right, it was the wrong moment to tackle president Santiago Peña and FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem.
By Sunday, the Frenchman could absolutely see that. Which is why he offered the following statement:
“After an eventful and very well organised Rally Del Paraguay I would like to take the opportunity to publicly apologize for the out of line interaction with FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem and President of Paraguay Santiago Peña yesterday afternoon.
“It was neither the right moment nor the right tone in which I raised my concerns about the championship.
“I have already had the chance to apologise to both Presidents in person last night, followed by a very constructive meeting.
“It was actually a great moment to speak with FIA President Ben Sulayem and be able to address a few areas that we all know need attention and improvement in our sport.
“Together, we set some targets which I look forward to see being actioned for a better future of running.”
Out of a difficult moment, Ogier has done what he does. He’s pulled together an opportunity to make things better. And from here on in, we can expect him to hold president Ben Sulayem’s feet to the fire in ensuring those targets reached and that better future actioned.
