Breaking news
WRC
Citroen wrong to drop Meeke mid-season - Latvala
Jari-Matti Latvala believes Citroen acted incorrectly by sacking Kris Meeke halfway through the 2018 WRC season and should have honoured his contract.
David Evans
Edited: Jun 13, 2018, 5:34 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Meeke, who had been hired to lead Citroen's title challenge in its factory WRC return with the C3, was dismissed between the last two rounds in what the team called a safety-related decision following recent large accidents.
But Toyota driver Latvala was one of several WRC contenders who spoke out in Meeke's defence.
"It's a shock," Latvala told Motorsport.com. "This isn't something we have seen in the driver market for a long, long time.
"For me, if you have a contract you don't change it, you commit for the year."
Reigning WRC champion Sebastien Ogier felt Citroen's decision was "harsh" on Meeke and co-driver Paul Nagle.
"It's always a surprise to see that happening in the middle of the season," said Ogier. "I don't want to make a judgement, I don't have all the elements, but it seems a bit harsh for Paul and Kris."
Ogier's sympathy was echoed by his title rival Thierry Neuville, who described Meeke as "a very fast and committed driver and a good friend as well".
Neuville added: "I wish him the best of luck. Whether we see him back or not, I don't know, but he was a great pilot and had a great career. But Citroen has made a decision and it's not for us to judge."
There is speculation that Meeke is already negotiating with teams about future possibilities, but he is currently remaining tight-lipped about his plans.
Meeke's fellow Briton Elfyn Evans said fans would miss his approach on and off the stages.
"Kris is a straight-talking-kind-of-bloke," said Evans. "He calls a spade an spade and people like that, the fans responded well to him and he'll be missed.
"I have to say, it was quite strange not to have him in Sardinia. He started his first full season with Citroen when I started my first full year with M-Sport.
"Obviously he had a lot more experience, but I kind of looked up to him, he started competing against my dad."
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article WRC drivers want "stupid" artificial jumps outlawed
Next article WRC team pushing for Italy 2019 boycott over Sardinia route
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
David Evans
How the much-missed Richard Burns scaled the WRC mountain
WRC
WRC
How the much-missed Richard Burns scaled the WRC mountain
M-Sport pins hopes on major mid-2020 engine upgrade
WRC
WRC
M-Sport pins hopes on major mid-2020 engine upgrade
Hanninen to co-drive for Latvala in Sweden
WRC
WRC
Rally Sweden
Hanninen to co-drive for Latvala in Sweden
More from
Kris Meeke
Kris Meeke secures maiden ERC win in Wales as Teemu Suninen claims title
ERC
ERC
Kris Meeke secures maiden ERC win in Wales as Teemu Suninen claims title
Kris Meeke to make European Rally Championship return in Wales
ERC
ERC
Kris Meeke to make European Rally Championship return in Wales
Meeke wins on rally return in Craig Breen’s honour
WRC
WRC
Meeke wins on rally return in Craig Breen’s honour
More from
Citroën World Rally Team
Citroen reveals new-look 2025 WRC line-up
WRC
WRC
Rally Monte Carlo
Citroen reveals new-look 2025 WRC line-up
Ostberg gets full WRC2 season with Citroen
WRC
WRC
Ostberg gets full WRC2 season with Citroen
Citroen open to making WRC car available to privateers
WRC
WRC
Citroen open to making WRC car available to privateers
Latest news
Why Isack Hadjar doesn’t like F1 sprints anymore
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Singapore GP
19 min
Why Isack Hadjar doesn’t like F1 sprints anymore
Ross Chastain and Shane van Gisbergen to race for JR Motorsports again in 2027
NASCAR O'Reilly
NOAP NASCAR O'Reilly
Phoenix II
1 h
Ross Chastain and Shane van Gisbergen to race for JR Motorsports again in 2027
NASCAR legend Fred Lorenzen first driver diagnosed with CTE after donating brain
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup 1 h
NASCAR legend Fred Lorenzen first driver diagnosed with CTE after donating brain
Max Verstappen defends Chris Lulham after online abuse
GT World Challenge Europe Endurance
WCEE GT World Challenge Europe Endurance 1 h
Max Verstappen defends Chris Lulham after online abuse
Feature
Discover prime content
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.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe