Last season we saw how getting stuck in a negative spiral affected not one, but two drivers: Craig Breen and Oliver Solberg.
Small mistakes turned into bigger ones, which increased the pressure, which then caused even bigger errors. It was the ultimate snowball effect, and for both drivers it signaled the end of their time at their respective teams.
Solberg was dropped by Hyundai before the season even ended and Breen vacated M-Sport at the end of the year, switching to Solberg’s former team, albeit on a part-time program.
Unfortunately for Solberg, he couldn’t secure another Rally1 drive, so he made the decision to drop back to WRC2 with the aim of winning the title.
Coming into 2023, question marks loomed over both drivers. Are they really good enough to be rallying at the top level? Are they fast enough? Can they iron out their errors?
It’s amazing what a bit of time out and a reset can do for the mind, and in Sweden they put to bed any questions that might have been lingering.
Breen led most of the rally, eventually finishing second overall, while Solberg completely dominated WRC2 all weekend long.
Speaking after the event, both drivers explained how they had found their competitiveness again, and they both essentially had the same reasoning.
“[Last year] was a struggle at times. I live in the moment,” Breen said.
“I’m one of these people that lives off the good moments, live off the good times, and I wasn’t having any basically.
“So it was taking me to go back and do my historic bits and pieces and that was where I was getting my enjoyment from.
“And I thought I should be getting serious enjoyment from driving these cars at the top of the game really and definitely this weekend has given me all the satisfaction, all those nice feelings that make me get up early in the morning and keep doing this.”
Solberg’s thoughts were very much the same, as he explained when Colin Clark highlighted that 2023 was already a very different year to 2022.
“I’m just more happy in my life, and I have a great feeling,” Solberg said.
“Everything is working as it should, and it’s just an amazing feeling.
“I’ve always had a feeling how to win, and always had the feeling I had good speed, but as I said everything around me needs to be good.
“You need good people around you to build you up, and everyone working in the same direction.
“That’s why I’m very relieved in my life, very happy in my life, and then it works well.”
And that’s exactly it. Breen and Solberg are two drivers who wear their hearts on their sleeves. They’re emotional people and that emotion trickles into their driving.
So it should be no surprise that their emotions affect their level of performance.
Sometimes it’s easy to forget these drivers are people just like you and I.
When we’re watching them dance a rally car on a knife edge at mind-blowing speeds, it’s easy to see them and the car as the same entity, all the while also believing they are out-of-this world superheroes.
Yes, some drivers can park their emotions at the door and focus on the job in hand without pressure or negativity affecting them. But not all drivers can.
Don’t be lulled into believing showing emotion is a weakness though, as in many ways it’s a real strength.
Get those emotions in a good place and a driver will fly – like we saw with both Breen and Solberg last weekend.
For drivers like them, it’s about trying to manage the emotions to ensure they stay in their happy place. If they can do that, they’ll both be a huge force to be reckoned with all year long.
And then the snowball effect kicks into gear, but this time in the opposite direction.
Happiness leads to better driving, which leads to better results, which only heightens those happy feelings even more.
And that’s why it’s not really a weakness to be an emotional driver. It might have a huge drawback if they’re not in a good place, but when they’re there, there’s nobody else in the world who will be loving life and getting as much enjoyment as them.
That feeling trumps everything else, and success will also come along with it. It’s a win-win situation.
Breen and Solberg have clearly found their happy place now. A part-time Rally1 program with Hyundai seems to be the fresh start Breen needed to learn to love the World Rally Championship again, and for Solberg, he’s back in an environment where he’s feeling the love and knows that can help him send the WRC2 championship battle right to the wire.
It doesn’t mean it’s going to be plain sailing from here, but if they can maintain a positive mindset throughout 2023 and keep enjoying what they’re doing, these two drivers are going to be major forces to be reckoned with and will reboot their careers in emphatic fashion.
