Thierry Neuville is keen to defend his WRC title – Those who have tasted victory are hungrier than ever for more overall victories
Thierry Neuville won the World Rally Championship (WRC) title for the first time with Hyundai in 2024. The Belgian has big plans: he wants to defend his title in 2025. The 36-year-old has been waiting 13 years to take home the big trophy for the first time. Now the racing driver from St. Vith is fully focused on defending his title. The season opener will take place in Monte Carlo from January 23 to 26, 2025.
In 2024, the Hyundai driver beat his teammate Ott Tänak in a thrilling season finale, but the constructors’ championship went to Toyota. In the new season, Neuville will start with the number 1 on his i20 N and his big goal is to keep this starting number in 2026 as well. “Once you’ve tasted victory, you want more,” says the Belgian.
“It’s always like that and, as in previous years, I’ll be giving it my all,” says the champion. ”If everything goes well, we should be up there with the frontrunners again. It definitely took some pressure off my shoulders during the title fight, because I’d been trying to win the championship for so long. The pressure to deliver as a team is still there and the same.”
Neuville is looking forward to the “challenge”, but at the same time expects a “hard” year. “I’m sure the pressure will be an advantage because it will make us work as hard as possible,” said Neuville. However, the Belgian does not know whether he will automatically achieve better results with the world championship title in his luggage. “The challenges are the same, with all the ups and downs, and I will give everything to overcome the hurdles,” he says.
But Neuville has a clear idea of how the title defense could work again. He and Hyundai would have to keep an eye on the big picture again, i.e. “points and the overall standings.” Neuville expects “four to five drivers” to be in the title fight: Tänak, returnee and champion Kalle Rovanperä, Elfyn Evans and “maybe” Adrien Fourmaux. So defending the title won’t be a sure thing for Neuville.
The season opener in Monte Carlo is not only one of the toughest rallies on the calendar, but also one of the most spectacular. Depending on the weather, it can get very cold, the fans will once again turn night into day and create a special atmosphere. The new Hankook tires and the end of the hybrid will certainly play an important role. Hyundai teammate Tänak is looking forward to being back on the road with a pure combustion engine.
“We all have no experience with the new tires yet, so we can only gain experience,” said Neuville. “We have to be clever in Monte Carlo, because I think the rally will be different from previous years because the conditions will be more wintry. It won’t be easy, but hopefully we can get the season off to a good start. I would be satisfied with a podium finish, but of course I would be even happier if we were at the top.”
