Thierry Neuville is looking to wrap up the 2024 World Rally Championship title as soon as possible.
The Belgian finished fourth at Rally Chile behind Hyundai teammate Ott Tanak in third as Toyota grabbed a one-two finish, with Kalle Rovanpera winning his fourth rally of the year from Elfyn Evans.
Neuville has claimed two victories at Monaco and Greece this year, as well as five total podiums and has finished outside the top five only twice this season so far as he leads the championship with two rallies to go.
The 36-year-old has yet to win his maiden WRC title, and while he had looked comfortable going into the event in Chile, Neuville is now coming under a bit of pressure from Tanak for the championship.
Speaking with Motorsport, Neuville outlined what Hyundai are going to do with the two drivers in light of their title fight.
Thierry Neuville wants to avoid an ‘internal battle’ with Ott Tanak for the WRC title
Tanak had been leading Rally Chile on Friday, but Elfyn Evans was handed the lead due to a notional time change after SS1 was cancelled. Hyundai’s appeal against the decision was ultimately rejected and Evans kept the advantage going into Saturday.
READ MORE: The ‘frustrating’ thing Toyota have done in 2024 that has cost Elfyn Evans the WRC title
Hyundai did not have the performance to match Toyota as Tanak came home behind Rrovanpera and Evans in third. With Neuville finishing fourth, the Estonian has closed the gap to 29 points with two rounds to go and is looking to fight for the title.
Teammate battles for a championship have become quite notorious in motorsport, such as ‘The Silver War’ in Formula 1 between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, which can at times prove damaging for a team.
And Neuville has stressed that no one will take big risks as he looks to get the title ‘done quickly’ and avoid an ‘internal battle’ with Tanak.
“Obviously some drivers made mistakes early in the race, and from that point again our plan and strategy had to be adapted, and we mainly focussed on Ott,” he said.
“We have done what we needed but we need to make sure we get things [the drivers’ title] done quickly as there is still a manufacturers’ championship to fight for, and we should ensure that for Japan we can fight as we should for that title. It is important not to have an internal fight and be ready to beat Toyota.
“We lost 18 points [to Toyota], and for sure there is a fight between me and Ott which is ongoing and nobody will take the biggest risks, but we lost some important points against Toyota.
“They [Toyota] will bring many cars and will also do that in Central Europe and we need to have a good approach and strategy as a team to make sure we don’t lose the manufacturers’ championship.”
Toyota have closed the gap to Hyundai with two rallies to go
After their disastrous weekend in Greece, Toyota team principal Jari-Matti Latvala urged his drivers to forget about their title hopes and focus on performing well at the next three events.
READ MORE: WRC stewards give key reason why Hyundai’s protest against Elfyn Evans’ Rally Chile lead failed
It appears this new approach has worked in the Japanese manufacturer’s favour. Despite Sebastien Ogier finishing down the order after colliding with a rock on Friday, Toyota managed to secure a one-two finish with Rovanpera and Evans.
This result has allowed the team to cut Hyundai’s lead in the Manufacturers’ Championship down to 17 points with the events at Central Europe and Japan remaining.
As the WRC returns to the tarmac, Neuville will be desperate to secure the title and avoid a battle with Tanak so he can focus his attention on helping his team win the championship over Toyota.