Neuville, Paddon want Ogier to join M-Sport

Ogier has found himself without a seat for next year after the abrupt decision from Volkswagen to quit WRC.

While he tested with Toyota and M-Sport and was also linked with a Citroen return, the Frenchman is yet to choose a team and admitted he is not 100 percent certain he will take part in the 2017 season.

When asked where he should go, both Neuville and Paddon picked M-Sport.

The latter, who took his maiden WRC win this year in Argentina, argued that a partnership between Ogier and M-Sport would create more competition within the series.

"I am guessing as much as anybody else but I think it would be good for the sport and for M-Sport if Seb went to Ford," Paddon said.

"Then all of a sudden you've got four teams with all capable drivers.

"Any sport is built on competition, you need close competition and if you have different teams, different drivers winning rallies, it creates a lot more interest, a lot more fans, so I think this could be good for everybody."

Neuville, 2016 runner-up, also wants Ogier to join M-Sport but reckons a move to Citroen is more likely.

"I would like to see him in Ford but the logic tells me that he will go to Citroen. So I don't know but we will see," the Belgian said.

"I would love to see him in a Ford. I like M-Sport, I worked with them. They deserve a driver like him and it would be a nice challenge for him, the car would be competitive, for sure, but it would be some changes for him."

Cautious approach to 2017

Both Neuville and Paddon refused to declare themselves or the Hyundai team as the 2017 favourites.

"For sure in my career I want to be the world champion, yes, but I don't want to put the pressure on myself," explained Neuville.

"We work as a team, we have a strong driver line-up who will definitely be strong and, if I can stay ahead of my teammates, I will be already in a very good position at the end of the year.

"And if we can beat the new cars like Citroen or Toyota, for sure we will be very close to the championship."

Paddon added: "I have always said we want to try and fight for the championship in 2018.

"I think this year we have made a step, next year we want to make the same step and try and fight more, I think as a team we are in the position that we can challenge for the manufacturers' [title].

"I think we all have good strong events and I think all three of us can work together well to get some good points for the team.

"I think everybody starts from zero and we don't know how competitive the other teams are and I think it's going to be wide open next year.

"Anyone can be fast, any driver, any team, so we cannot take anything for granted. I think we are in a good position that we didn't change the team so the environment is really relaxed, comfortable.

"We are all going to the season knowing what to expect from each other and things and all we can do now is to see how it all works out."

Additional reporting by Jean-Philippe Vennin