Ford hopes to be “in a good position” to keep Sébastien Ogier

If the transfer window WRC seems rather calm in front of the stage, behind the scenes the discussions must logically begin to be carried out at full speed. And the case of Sébastien Ogier obviously remains central to the constitution of the 2019 field.

Arrived at M-Sport fin 2016 après sa glorieuse période Volkswagen, le champion du monde avait permis à l’écurie de Malcolm Wilson de décrocher les couronnes mondiales l’an passé. La poursuite de son engagement avec la structure de Dovenby Hall avait été entérinée en novembre dernier, grâce notamment au coup de pouce fourni par Ford Performance.

A reinforced involvement from the Dearborn (Michigan) manufacturer which, however, only translated to a moderate extent on the Fiesta WRC. The latter only received one aero upgrade from Finland, with a rather mixed result by Sébastien Ogier's own admission.

However, the Ford clan says it is confident when discussing the Frenchman's future. “It’s an important part of the team to have the right drivers, comments Gerard Quinn, manager of Ford Performance Europe, on the WRC + program.

We know we have a competitive car with the Fiesta, and having drivers of the caliber of Séb, Elfyn or Teemu is important for us […] Keeping Séb in the team is very important for us.

I think there's always a question of money, but that aside, if you look at how Sébastien came from being involved with a fully factory environment with his previous team, to a more family-oriented team, I think it is important to him.

We allow him to do what he needs, because he is now a father, and needs to spend more time with his family. This is a first-class consideration. I would like to think we are in a good position to retain his services for next season. There is no contract, no discussions yet, we have a championship to win. »

Remember that Sébastien Ogier was recently able to speak with Pierre Budar, director of Citroën Racing, as indicated by the manager of the French team.