Thierry Neuville admits Rally Finland podium will be “tough”
Title chasing Thierry Neuville says he knows better than most just how important a podium finish on Rally Finland this week could prove in his on-going pursuit of defending World Champion Kalle Rovanpera.
12 months on from a battling drive to fifth at the same event with Martijn Wydaeghe, Neuville’s outlook is decidedly more upbeat on the eve of the quickest fixture on the FIA World Rally Championship calendar.
The Belgian – with input from his new-for-2023 team-mate Esapekka Lappi – has been working hard with engineers to refine the i20 N Rally1 car’s prowess on gravel, an exercise that has been helped by the team relocating its permanent test base from Germany to Finland at the beginning of last year.
At last month’s Rally Estonia where the roads are broadly similar in profile to Finland, Neuville bagged second place and Lappi third, and while Team Principal Cyril Abiteboul would like to celebrate a victory this weekend, it is generally accepted that toppling Toyota’s Elfyn Evans – a former winner in 2021 – and home hero Rovanpera remains a tall order.
“Fighting for the podium in Finland will be important in terms of the Championship – but it is going to be tough,” said Neuville, who is currently third in the drivers’ standings after eight rounds.
“Finland is always difficult to predict; during the recce, you never really know what the actual speed will be when you arrive at certain points, but my experience over the past years will help.
“The competition will be fierce. Most of them are Scandinavian drivers, so they will be hard to beat – but we are feeling confident in ourselves – and the car – following our podium in Estonia.”
Tyre strategy is going to be one less headache Neuville and Lappi will have to worry about as the soft Pirelli tyre is the go-to option; these work best even when the temperatures are higher due to the rate of attrition being so low.
Reading the crests and jumps, and knowing how to position the car at speed requires more thought, however, and on this front Lappi has a distinct advantage being a Finn.
“I would love to win this weekend in Finland,” said 2017 winner Lappi. “Regardless of the result, the atmosphere is exactly what you want to have in front of your home crowd – it is very special.
“Rally Finland is an event with a lot of crests and jumps and normally quite high grip, and it is famous for the incredible speed. We had some good fights in Estonia with our competitors, and I hope we can be in the mix again – hopefully in front of them,” he added.
