‘Once you taste the WRC title, you want more’

Thierry Neuville says the hunger for a second World Rally Championship title is stronger than ever heading into the Monte Carlo season opener as the defending champion for the first time.

Neuville will begin his title defence this week in Monte Carlo after finally achieving his ultimate dream last season, as he cast aside the tagline of being the championship’s perennial runner-up. 

The Hyundai driver admitted last year that winning the title provided a significant pressure release after years of striving to reach the pinnacle of rallying. 

Heading into the new season with the #1 on the side of his Hyundai i20 N, the Belgian says the success of last year has further fuelled his desires for more title glory.    

“Definitely [hungry for another title], once you taste it you want more,” Neuville told Autosport.  

“It is always like this with everything. For sure, definitely what I want to do is give it everything like we have done in the other years. If everything comes together we should be up there. 

“Overall I would say that we have obviously taken a bit of weight off our shoulders for the title fight and that title is something we have been chasing for a while. 

“Otherwise I would say the pressure to perform, the pressure to deliver for the team and the pressure to be the best is still the same. 

“It will be exciting, it will be challenging and it will be tough. I’m sure that this pressure will be benefiting us to continuously keep pushing as hard as we can.”

When asked if now being a world rally champion could actually help him perform even better in 2025, he added: “I don’t know. I think the challenges will be the same, there will be ups and downs like always.

“We have to overcome those challenges, and face them and try to do the best – but with a similar strategy to last year thinking about the points and the championship

“I think it will be four to five drivers [in the title fight] with Ott [Tanak], Kalle [Rovanpera], Elfyn [Evans] and maybe even Adrien [Fourmaux] joining the fight.”

Neuville’s title defence will begin with one of the WRC’s most demanding events in Monte Carlo, which will be even trickier for crews this year following the introduction of new Hankook tyres and the FIA’s move to remove hybrid power from Rally1 cars. 

“We are all clearly missing experience with the new tyres and we can only get more experience now doing the rally,” he added.

“I think we will have to have a clever approach for Monte Carlo and I think it will be a different Monte Carlo than in previous years with some more wintry conditions. It won’t be easy but hopefully we can get a good start into the season.

“I would be happy to be on the podium and satisfied to be there but very happy to be on the top step.”