Will Ogier get back on the wheel in 2017?

A week after the announcement of the end of the program in WEC byAudi Sport, it is Volkswagen which throws a stone into the pond by announcing his withdrawal from the WRC at the end of the season. The Wolfsburg brand was however preparing its new Polo adapted to the future 2017 regulations and had already extended the contracts of its three regular drivers. Sébastien Ogier, Jari-Matti Latvala and Andreas Mikkelsen.

Cette annonce tardive complique la tâche des compétiteurs pour retrouver un volant l’an prochain. Citroën et Hyundai ont déjà confirmé leurs équipages. Toyota a déjà officialisé Juho Hänninen et devrait confirmer Esapekka Lappi. M-Sport est la seule structure à laisser le doute, mais l’équipe de Malcolm Wilson est en retard face à la concurrence dans le développement de la nouvelle Fiesta RS WRC.

With four consecutive world titles, Sébastien Ogier should have no trouble finding a seat again. The Frenchman could return to Citroën where he played in 2011 before joining Volkswagen's development program, which would force the Chevron brand to extend its program to four drivers in addition to Kris Meeke, Stéphane Lefebvre and Craig Breen. Hyundai could also interest the French driver even if the Korean brand does not intend to change its workforce in 2017.

Would Sébastien Ogier be tempted by Toyota? It would be a difficult step to return to a new team without knowing the performance level of the Yaris WRC. As for the Fiesta RS WRC, it could suffer from its lack of testing against the competition. There is no doubt in any case that discussions will go well in the coming weeks. In any case, Citroën seems to be the main opportunity for the Gapençais. On the other hand, the situation seems much more complicated for his teammates Jari-Matti Latvala and Andreas Mikkelsen…