Thierry Neuville says he enjoyed having Ott Tänak as his team-mate at Hyundai over the past three World Rally Championship seasons.
Tänak joined Hyundai from Toyota in 2020 as world champion, but his three-year stint at Alzenau hasn’t lived up to expectations.
A monster accident on the 2020 Monte Carlo Rally set the tone for a tenure that wouldn’t yield a serious championship bid and just five rally wins – a tally Tänak achieved in just one season with his previous employer.
Over recent months, Tänak’s demeanor and comments to the media had made it abundantly obvious that he wasn’t a happy camper at Hyundai, and indeed he took the decision to walk away from his contract a year early in the wake of last weekend’s Rally Spain.
Hyundai was already facing a predicament with drivers having elected to let Oliver Solberg go, citing a need for more experienced drivers, so now it needs to sign at least two drivers for the 2023 season.
Speaking to DirtFish before Tänak’s exit had been confirmed, Neuville was asked if there were any drivers, he thought Hyundai should pursue to be his team-mate next year, but he chose to address the then uncertainty surrounding Tänak’s future.
“I guess one, obviously, is clear,” Neuville said. “The second one? I don’t know yet.
“I can only try to convince the team to do what it needs to keep Ott with us. The stronger team-mates you have, the more you push yourself as well to be good.
“And since Ott has been in the team, I gave my best to be on his level and I was enjoying it.”
Neuville and Tänak’s relationship has appeared to become more fractious in recent rallies, starting with Neuville questioning the validity of Tänak’s statement when he said he had a transmission problem when the pair were battling to win Ypres Rally Belgium,
Things further boiled over on Acropolis Rally Greece when Neuville was instructed to finish ahead of Tänak by Hyundai Motorsport president Sean Kim – much to Tänak’s dismay as the extra seven championshio points he would have gained had the positions been swapped would’ve aided his bid to chase down Kalle Rovanperä and not affected Hyundai’s manufacturers’ haul.
But through it all Neuville said it hasn’t ever been personal, and he’s been very clear that he’s always wanted Tänak to remain a Hyundai driver.
“I think if you look in terms of how to say to push the team forward, I think we’ve been on the same level and pushing both in the same way,” Neuville said.
“Sometimes on the setup, maybe we’re a bit different, but I always try, and I think he as well that every driver got what it needs.
“And that was the part of the job the team was doing so far. So I think we can’t complain about that.
“It would be a shame if we lose him.”
Tänak’s next move beyond Rally Japan, his last rally in an i20 N Rally1, is currently unclear.
