WRC: Did Thierry Neuville deserve the 2021 champion title?

Facts : Winner last weekend of Rally from Catalonia, Thierry Neuville overshadowed the last two candidates for the title, Sébastien Ogier and Elfyn Evans. However, the Belgian is no longer in a position to be crowned in a month at Monza, despite his seven podiums and two victories. So, did Thierry Neuville deserve the 2021 champion title?

Yes, by Jérémy Satis

Il paraît qu’avec des si, on met Paris en bouteille. Et bien mettons Paris, la Belgique, et tout ce que vous voudrez en bouteille, et réécrivons quelque peu l’histoire de cette saison 2021. D’abord, il n’est pas question ici de remettre en cause les solides performances réalisées jusqu’ici par Sébastien Ogier et Elfyn Evans, qui se battront pour le titre dans un mois à Monza, comme en 2020. Mais j’aimerais réhabiliter le soldat Neuville, troisième du championnat à 45 points d’Ogier et donc hors course pour la couronne finale. Le Belge ne sera pas titré, et c’est malheureux, parce qu’il a été à mon humble avis le pilote le plus fort et le plus rapide de la saison. Sans parler de sa victoire nette sur les routes catalanes le week-end dernier, le pilote Hyundai a été le plus régulier en 2021. D’abord, personne ne compte plus de podiums que lui cette année (7 fois). Ensuite, à l’exception de la manche grecque, le natif de Saint-Vith a bouclé tous les rallyes qu’il a terminés sur le podium !

In fact, if he is out of the running for the final title, it is only because of his two retirements. We will not excuse his exit from the road in Portugal, but on the other hand he has no responsibility for his two abandonments in Kenya (explosion of the shock absorber) and in Finland (radiator problem). In accounting, these two rounds weigh heavily, especially when at the same time, Ogier and Evans have finished all the rallies. I would end my argument with this statistic: if we deducted from everyone the points from the two rallies abandoned by Thierry Neuville, the Belgian would only be eight units behind the Frenchman and even six ahead of the Welshman. He would be more than ever in the fight at Monza, and would have been in a position to seek this title which has always been denied to him. Because it is undoubtedly this year that the five-time vice-world champion deserved it the most!

No, by Medhi Casaurang-Vergez

Impossible to deny it, Thierry Neuville is one of the fastest men on the world stage. We do not win 15 rounds of the WRC, sur toutes les surfaces possibles (asphalte, terre et neige) par hasard ! Mais le Belge n’a pas que des qualités. Pour devenir champion du monde des rallyes, il ne suffit pas de faire montre d’une sacrée pointe de vitesse. Les duellistes du Toyota Gazoo Racing, Sébastien Ogier et Elfyn Evans, l’ont bien compris, eux qui n’ont jamais abandonné en 11 rendez-vous. Pour Thierry Neuville, il en est autrement, avec deux rallyes terminés abruptement. Au Kenya, les mauvaises langues incriminèrent un rythme trop élevé pour expliquer une casse de suspension, des critiques balayées par le principal intéressé. Aucun doute en revanche sur l’erreur d’une note trop optimiste qui l’a expédié dans le décor sur la terre du Portugal.

If these zeros are not his responsibility, perhaps we should take a step back and analyze the career of the best Belgian driver in the history of the WRC. The five-time runner-up really had the opportunity to hit the mark from 2017, when Volkswagen withdrew from the competition. Already, a broken suspension had eliminated him in Germany and Catalonia. Missed. Then, in 2018, a slip-up in Wales cost him dearly, when he wanted to make up for it after a breakdown... with a suspension in Turkey. In 2019, Ott Tänak took off as the Hyundai leader went astray (puncture in Germany, crash in Turkey). Finally, in 2020, he went off the road during the first stages of the Monza finale. In short, a mixture of eagerness and not crazy reliability.

Oddly enough, Thierry Neuville could gain more by sometimes slowing down. Historically, it's not always the fastest who wins in the WRC. 20 years ago, Richard Burns won his only crown at the end of a campaign marked by a single success, where Colin McRae and Tommi Mäkinen had been more flamboyant (3 victories)… but more often sent to the heap.