Ogier?
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Yes
Ummm.... I wouldn`t mind...:D
But to be serious, pretty much says what he thinks about c3 as a whole package...not good enough to be competitive on every event.
I take that as “I’m stayint with Ford or go to Hyundai”
I feel Ogier thinks he is lucky to win championship this year, and relucant to recommit. Also Malcolm said he cant afford to pay him the same for 2018 as 2017. Hyundai will pay whatever he wants.. because they are now desparate to win, and will not win WDC with him in another team. While he might want to join Citroen, maybe they cannot afford his demands, plus the clash with Abu Dhabi and Redbull. Why Tommi Makinen doesnt brake the bank for him, i dont know. The Toyota is a quick car on every surface.. and Ogier knows he can break Latvala.
All this previously by Ogier, 'I want to get my future sorted out early' ... it was just wishful thinking by him.
Contracts with several teams and undecided manufacturer's in the mix are complex. They inevitably take time and patience.
Something everyone on here needs to learn.
I never understand why Hyundai took Mikkelsen and let Ogier go to the competition. If Neuville would have been a problem then let him go, if you want to win the title you need Ogier not an arrogant boy who offend his teammates, believes himself as the best drivers around and win nothing at the end.
It could be that Ogier is afraid of Citroen developing on gravel and he wants to be reassured about Citroen's commitment on the development of the car in terms of resources and investments. I'm afraid Citroen doesn't want to invest too much on WRC and have quite limited budget.
Another reason could be the fact that he wants to develop the car the way he wants and maybe that requires more than a talk before closing the deal, since that would be disruptive for the team as is right now.
Like Ogier said, it's complicated and slow negotiating with multiple teams and with multiple factors in the game (Ford's decisions?, Red Bull / Abu Dhabi clashes?, FIA four car rules?).
Kalle Rovanperä has 3 options for 2018 and beyond:
M-Sport, Malcolm wants 3-years deal, Jouhki maybe doesn´t want to commit Kalle that long
Skoda, fastest R5 but what after that, WRC from where?
Toyota, gazoo junior program can offer him R5 car (Fabia or Fiesta) and he can test WRC, easiest team to work with and only 2km from home.
Any of those 3 would not surprise me as Kalle´s 2018 team.
Without any particular team bias I'd have thought Ogier will have just as good a chance of a 6th WDC by staying with M-Sport than going to Hyundai. Mikkelsen, Neuville, Paddon and Whoever sounds like a recipe for a 'who gets the sandpit in a kindergarten' fight. Meeke will be Meeke in the C3 and Toyota have what appears to be the team that has the philosophy from a Brit Comedy show, League of Gentlemen - 'This is a local shop for local people!'
The conditions that have occurred this year will remain, sometimes a driver will shine and others they will be disappointing. The real challenger would seem to be Tanak, so far better for Ogier to stay as his Team Leader and maintain the ultra consistency approach.