He explained that. Latvala needed a new engine so could choose the latest spec.
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JML is staying for sure. The only question is whether Lappi is leaving for Citroen which I don't think will happen unless Citroen pays him a lot more money. Considering Ogier is said to be leaving (even though a good source told me he is staying) I don't think they can afford both Ogier and Lappi??
I think with Seb we won't find anything out anytime soon.
Ogier said he's going to pick whichever team gives him the best shot at the title. He'd be nuts to pick Citroën over M-Sport.
Nope.
Citroen is seemingly progressing on gravel and still probably has the strongest engine. Historically their record shows they can keep developing the car for very long. DS3 seemed to lack vs Fiesta first then a lot vs Polo in the start but always improved from year to year.
MSport looks like they can't keep up with the development and from mid-season look like they are dropping behind others in pure car performance. This is what historically (last 6? years) has been normal at MSport. When the car first comes it's one of the best if not the best, but then further development does not go as fast as with others. Might have to do with how much money is invested.
On the Spanish coverage of rally Germany (so, this information is a month old), Fernando Albes said that it was 95% certain that Ogier would go to Citroen.
The host of the show pointed out that Ogier and Citroen had a very bad relationship, so what would make him go back to them?
Answer: The rumor is that Citroen offered him between 3-4x his current salary, which based on previous rumors would mean $30-40 million per year. That's Hamilton/Vettel money. Suddenly, all that stuff that happened in 2011 seems so petty!
Don't underestimate what 3 championships with 3 different manufacturers would mean to a man who has nearly done it all. And if he's going to try and do it while earning a massive wedge and being back at the team who gave him his WRC breakthrough, then even better.