Italy WRC: Motorsport.com's driver ratings
After WRC's latest round produced the fifth different winner in five rallies, David Gruz examines how Rally Italia's top dog Thierry Neuville and the rest of the field fared this weekend.
Photo by: M-Sport
Sebastien Ogier, 3rd – 8
For the first time in his career as a factory WRC driver, Ogier has gone four rallies without winning. Once again, he would have had to push way harder than usual due to road position were he to go for victory - and Ogier instead safely made it home on the podium. The fifth Power Stage win in six rallies is proof he is still the best.
Jari-Matti Latvala, 2nd – 8
Although making it to the finish untroubled should count as a good rally for Latvala, it was probably not one of the Finn’s best runs. Some handling issues on Friday were fixed with a gearbox change but he was still beaten by a non-VW car fair and square. Regardless, consistency is what matters most for Latvala and he had that in spades this time.
Andreas Mikkelsen, 13th – 6
It looked like a strong result was on the cards for Mikkelsen – despite starting the stages right behind Ogier, he was very close to the Frenchman in the classification. He was caught out by a rock in a rainy Saturday afternoon stage, however, which sent his car into a roll. Returned on Sunday but intentionally threw away potential Power Stage points in order not to pass Sordo in the standings and have a better running position for Poland – a statement from him and Volkswagen on the rule, surely.
Hayden Paddon, DNF – 6
The scene of Paddon’s maiden WRC podium has not been too kind to him this time around. He only completed three stages before a spin cost him half a second and then a roll forced him out of the rally. You shouldn't be able to put yourself under pressure two rallies after your maiden win but, with two successive retirements, Paddon has done just that.
Dani Sordo, 4th – 7
Another rally, another fourth-place finish. However, as opposed to Portugal, here Sordo failed to challenge Ogier as well as Ostberg and Mikkelsen - and the latter duo’s problems were the only reason he could finish as high as he did. He might have been the slowest Hyundai but he is still the only driver capable of consistently delivering strong results for the team.
Thierry Neuville, 1st – 10
After a troublesome end to 2015 and an ever worse start to 2016, Neuville needed a strong result badly. He quickly established himself in the lead, which he did not give up after Friday morning. He was under immense pressure from Latvala throughout the rest of the rally but Neuville did not put a foot wrong and reminded everyone that, on his day, he can be truly special.
Kevin Abbring, 15th – 8
Abbring returned for his second outing of the season and his performance was infinitely better this time around. He took his first WRC stage win in the Monti di Ala run and was second in the afternoon in the same test. Most importantly, a second place in the Power Stage earned him his first two points. However, his car did not quite match his form – a broken propshaft on Friday, as well as gearbox problems and a puncture on Saturday all combined to cost him almost 20 minutes.
Mads Ostberg, DNF – 7
Ironically, Ostberg’s first retirement since his return to M-Sport came in what was arguably his strongest performance. Him and Mikkelsen were right on Ogier's tail for the final podium spot throughout and, when Mikkelsen crashed, a top-four finish was virtually guaranteed. Yet Ostberg would follow his compatriot a stage later, clipping a rock, breaking his suspension and retiring for good.
Eric Camilli, 6th – 8
Camilli continued to impress with another strong rally. Although he was quickly robbed of a chance to compete against Ostberg after dropping down with a technical problem, the Frenchman managed a strong recovery. He set some amazing times on Saturday and Sunday, making it into the top-three six times and taking his first stage win. A podium may have been a bit of a stretch but he is getting closer and closer to Ostberg.
Ott Tanak, 5th – 7
Rally Italia, an event that's hard on tyres, was a big test for DMACK and Tanak. And even though they made it home in fifth, it was a mixed bag of a performance. Along with two punctures, Tanak completed other stages with his tyres completely destroyed, losing precious time. The pace was not quite as strong this time around either, and fifth place was probably the best possible result.
Be part of Motorsport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments