Thierry Neuville doesn’t need any advice and knows “what he needs to do” to take a maiden World Rally Championship title this weekend, according to Hyundai boss Cyril Abiteboul.
Neuville heads into the penultimate round of the season in Central Europe knowing he will claim rallying’s ultimate prize if he extends his 29-point lead beyond 30 points.
Hyundai team-mate Ott Tanak is his nearest rival, while Toyota’s Sébastien Ogier and Elfyn Evans are still mathematically in the mix, albeit 41 and 46 points behind respectively, with 60 left on the table.
Neuville has led the championship since winning the Monte Carlo opener in January. The Belgian has been locked in title fights before only to come up short, finishing as the runner-up on five occasions (2013, 2016-2019).
Heading into what could be a career-defining weekend, Abiteboul is confident his driver will handle the occasion correctly.
“He knows exactly what he needs to do,” Abiteboul told Autosport. “It doesn't mean that we have not discussed [the situation].
“I think there things that I have simply kept on repeating because there is a bit of pressure from everyone from the system, from the media, to say 'you can win this rally'.
“'You can win this rally' should not turn into 'you must win this rally' because again, there are 13 rounds, not 12. If you try to do a job that you've been assigned for 13 weeks and you are trying to make it in 12 weeks, that's where you can underperform.
“Let's not try to win at any cost or to outscore everyone at any cost. Let's do what we've been doing so far and it's a long game. We've been playing the long game actually [for] quite a while and we should not stop at the last moment.
“I think his career has been full of amazing moments like that, but also of moments where mistakes were made also on the wrong time, so I think I want to protect him from himself, and removing unnecessary pressure is exactly what we need to do.
“He needs to do his rally and manage his advantage. He's got the advantage, he's got the cards in hand, he should not give the cards to someone else.”
Despite being the closest he’s ever been to a WRC title, Neuville says he doesn’t plan to alter his approach on the Central European Rally asphalt stages he conquered last year.
“I’m feeling okay so far," Neuville told Autosport. "I’m looking forward as it is a tarmac rally ahead, which I enjoy, and it is going to be challenging but a nice weekend.
“At the moment it feels quite calm to be honest, and maybe the pressure will come throughout the weekend. I don't know, but at the moment I am just trying to stay focused.
“We don't need to win the championship necessarily this weekend, but of course we want to and we hope. But we have had a good strategy so far this year, and there's no reason to change that.”
