Andreas Mikkelsen

**EstWRC** · 16th July 2017, 15:58

what a pathetic excuse...whats so depressing here lately?

Speaking about MIkkelsen, i dont know why but i have a feeling it will be very hard for Mikkelsen to find a seat for next year too. i see Citroen his only chance.

**racerx1979** · 16th July 2017, 16:05

I was thinking the same. If his results with Citroen are always at the bottom 5 he might not get a seat especially when guys like Sunninen are available.

**SubaruNorway** · 16th July 2017, 16:24

Originally Posted by EstWRC

what a pathetic excuse...whats so depressing here lately?

Speaking about MIkkelsen, i dont know why but i have a feeling it will be very hard for Mikkelsen to find a seat for next year too. i see Citroen his only chance.

Posts like this. The whole Mikkelsen story is getting pretty tiresome.
I see no reason as to why Toyota would not hire him? I'm sure they are smart enough to not consider his results with the Citroen when choosing drivers for next year.
Of course he's bottom 5 when he's not driving the car over the limit.

**AnttiL** · 16th July 2017, 16:26

Originally Posted by SubaruNorway

I see no reason as to why Toyota would not hire him?

Hiring Tänak. Or Ogier?

When it comes down to Suninen it's more up to whether they want a young promising talent or someone that has already won events.

**EstWRC** · 16th July 2017, 16:30

Originally Posted by SubaruNorway

Posts like this. The whole Mikkelsen story is getting pretty tiresome.
I see no reason as to why Toyota would not hire him? I'm sure they are smart enough to not consider his results with the Citroen when choosing drivers for next year.
Of course he's bottom 5 when he's not driving the car over the limit.

so, if i and others have different opinion from yours about Mikkelsen then this forum is depressing? Way to go dude.

if he had shown Meekelike pace then i would hire him if i were team principal....but being slower then Lefebvre on one of his favourite events doesnt do any good for him even when considering the car.

**mmm** · 16th July 2017, 16:58

He was spoiled by VW, not faced extreme hardships for getting his career going like Paddon, Tänak, etc. Now when things finally got tough for him, he seems lost.

**SubaruNorway** · 16th July 2017, 17:23

Originally Posted by mmm

He was spoiled by VW, not faced extreme hardships for getting his career going like Paddon, Tänak, etc. Now when things finally got tough for him, he seems lost.

You don't know much about Mikkelsen do you? Look up 2009, not an experience i want to go through again.

**mknight** · 16th July 2017, 17:25

Originally Posted by Rally Power

Yep, thread is about Mikkelsen.
Btw, why are people assuming that it’s him that doesn’t want to get fully committed with Citroen? Veiby’s words sounded much like a pressure call for Matton to make up his mind and give Mikkelsen a permanent seat, at least till the end of the season.

Matton still has 3 drivers under contract and surely he’s expecting to see how Meeke will return after the break; besides ’18 drivers market isn’t open yet (all waiting for Ogier moves) so why would he sign Mikkelsen if more capable lead drivers can become soon available?

The statement was meant for both imo. It tells other teams he is still interested in other options and at same time puts pressure on Matton to give an offer.

As to the "market", we actually don't know anything. Could be that some drivers have already signed.

It's very unlikely we will get any knews about drivers changing teams before the end of the season (or atleast until titles are decided). Only thing we could expect announced before that is contract extensions at same team.

Originally Posted by EstWRC

if he had shown Meekelike pace then i would hire him if i were team principal....but being slower then Lefebvre on one of his favourite events doesnt do any good for him even when considering the car.

He was faster than Lefebvre on pure speed, that is a fact, in very much same way as Lappi was faster than Hanninen in Portugal. Both ended behind in the overall results though for multiple reasons.

Originally Posted by racerx1979

I was thinking the same. If his results with Citroen are always at the bottom 5 he might not get a seat especially when guys like Sunninen are available.

We have seen Mikkelsen vs Suninen in 3 rallies in R5 this year, Suninen was clearly a level behind. (This is not meant as criticism of Sunninen, more like a reality check to counter the hype).

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ATM with the info available (see first part above), I see the options as relatively open for all 3 "free" top drivers (Ogier, Tanak, Mikkelsen). (Technically Lavala is also free)
Ogier is probably most limited in his choices cause Hyundai prbly can't afford/doesn't want him with Neuville as n1, for Toyota it might create issues if they want to keep Latvala and he might hesitate to go to Citroen due to past issues and recent C3 performance.

From manu side we have:

M-Sport - likely to loose Ogier and have 1-2 free seats if Ford doesn't come, unlikely to go full "paydrivers" (aka. 2005), when it's only the 2nd year of this car, would want at least 1 very good driver.
Toyota - very likely to drop Hanninen and would want a chance for manu title so need one that can secure good results on most events
Citroen - 2 drivers with limited experience/unsure performance (Lefevbre especially), Meeke with unstable results. Car that needs development with input from other drivers than the 3 that developed it so far. (doesn't matter if they give right feedback if engineers don't trust their experience, none of the 3 have any experience with other cars from last 4 years)
Hyundai - prbly not 100% satisfied with Sordo and Paddon, after all the point gap from Neuville is huge relative to point gap Ogier vs Tanak and they are not leading manu champ, even with probably the fastest car atm. Trying to help Paddon improve his tarmac pace, is an indicator that he is still wanted, but then they also expect that the tarmac speed really improves.

**mknight** · 16th July 2017, 17:28

Originally Posted by mmm

He was spoiled by VW, not faced extreme hardships for getting his career going like Paddon, Tänak, etc. Now when things finally got tough for him, he seems lost.

This comment only shows that you have not been following rallying during the last 8 years.