https://dirtfish.com/rally/wrc/how-t...he-star-pupil/


"Ypres showed it was a true drivers’ rally, catching out the two obvious favorites for victory. It demonstrated too that M-Sport team principal Richard Millener was right when he said throwing money at marginal technical gains wasn’t an effective strategy".

At the same time he also said after Fourmaux crash that some partners might stop supporting them if the results don't come. That's something we have discussed even before this season. How happy Ford (and others) will be when the new (costly) car gets driven around (mostly) by paydrivers for profit rather than results.
Case in point - Finland. 5 Pumas, one had some hope for podium before the rally.

Note what Hyundai did before this season. Mid last year they (Adamo at that time) said it openly that their job in WRC is to win championships, so they stopped Loubet/Veiby/Solans drives and focused on that. Sure MSports business is something else, but if the goals become very different than Ford or others (Redbull??) it can obviously be a problem.