90. Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo 2022
20. 1. – 23. 1. 2022, Monaco • Automobile Club de Monaco • asphalt - snow 296.03 km • total distance including road sections - 1511.47 km • Other years
Info
SS17
10 sec penalty for jumped start included in his stage time
"I feel really happy! I didn't expect so much when I came here, but it was a great fight. Ogier was really fast and I struggled a bit yesterday and even this morning."
"There was a strange noise on the engine at the start and I was disturbed, maybe I released a little early. I can keep my head up. I did my job this weekend and that's the way it is. Well done to the team, it's been a good weekend for the first time with the hybrid."
"It feels amazing. This is the result of 18 months of incredibly hard work by a group of people all the way through Covid, and it's all worth it because this is an absolutely amazing machine."
"I think it was not so hard to improve on! I am really happy with what we can do. It looked so bad in the beginning, but it was nice to be back on the pace. We lost the podium in the beginning of the rally, but the car is working so well."
"Relief! It's been a good weekend in terms of performance and I want to congratulate everyone at M-Sport and Ford Performance because this thing is a weapon and it's going to get better all through the year. Fingers crossed for Craig and Séb now because the team deserves this."
"I gave it everything..."
"I didn't expect so much, but I am so disappointed with myself and yesterday's mistake. It's part of the learning. This experience will only help my future, so I will try to learn from this kind of bad feeling."
"The beginning of the stage was good. It's hard to say, but that felt okay. It's always difficult braking into those hairpins and it's a very fine line with the grip. Everything is okay."
"We just pushed to show what we were capable. The puncture was not planned, but that's the way it is and I can not come back."
"We are so stoked. It's taken a while to get up to speed but I am really happy with that last stage. Fourth overall of all the Rally2 cars is honestly great and we're so happy."
"It's good to have a podium and to score the points because this year we are trying to work towards the championship. It's a really slippery place downhill, but I managed to stay on the road and for me it was important to finish."
"I am speechless. It's amazing. The car was working perfectly all weekend, so we managed it and we won the WRC2 Juniors also. It's our first Monte-Carlo and a podium, so thanks to the team."
Spin
"I couldn't have asked for a better start to the season. Torstein [Eriksen, co-driver] has done so well from the first stage and I am so happy. It can't be better. There were very tricky conditions still, but we managed it quite well."
SS16
Puncture
SS15
Puncture
Puncture
"I was really careful of punctures in this one, so I tried to stay away from every sharp cut. It was a clean stage, but still tricky in places."
"The information was quite good, but the first part of the stage was a bit surprising in some places that were really slippery. I didn't take too many risks because the grip was changing all the time."
"For the first time in my career, I actually need championship points! Let's see. We've got a good gap to Kalle and I’m just wanting to bring it home now. A podium would be a great way to start the season."
"I was just saving the tyres for this afternoon. It's quite a tricky power stage, so let's see if we can try something there or not."
"In my notes I have a lot of frost, but the grip was fine. I wasn't using the grip and there were a lot of places I was braking when I really didn't need to."
"I have a lot of diff slip. I have a problem with my rear diff and when it's flat it's okay, but as soon as there are some bumps I get a lot of wheel spin. Hopefully we can get some points from the power stage but it might not be easy."
"There was something on the inside of a corner, but nothing of any worth. We had nothing to lose to change it and obviously make sure we got through with no issue."
"It was definitely slippier than the first one this morning. It was tricky in braking and it's not so easy to guess. I just trusted my gravel crew and everything is fine."
Puncture
SS14
"A good start. It was a clean stage for me - I didn't push too much but it's fine."
"A good stage, but it's hard to keep a good rhythm."
"I think by driving it's not possible [to catch Breen]. We have to keep some pressure on the others. This stage was tricky - my [tyre] pressures were way too high at the end and we were losing a lot of grip."
"I was comfortable in the car yesterday, we just had to make sure we got to service so we could get some points today. That stage is really slippery in places so we were quite cautious, but we need the points."
"It's all about saving tyres. I got the super-softs because it's a bit tricky on the next stage."
"There’s a lot of cutting in here, so I tried to save my tyres and that's it really."
"I think I did something wrong with the notes, but we went through the video to double-check everything last night..."
"It's a nice stage, but a bit tricky. Some corners were more slippery than I expected so I just took it easy in the stage. It will be better on the next pass."
SS13
"I did a mistake on a slow corner on the ice. I was maybe 20km/h too fast. It's so bad, honestly. I think the championship is so long and the most important thing is to get some points tomorrow. It's my fault."
"There is so much dirt going into the road. I didn't feel that we hit anything, but the front right started to go down. It was 5km to the finish so we tried to carry on, but then it went down to the rim. It's a long rally and anything can still happen.
"Now it's a bit far. We tried, but Ogier saw it and he changed at the last minute. It was really tricky with the slicks and very easy to make a mistake, but we are here."
Off road
Puncture
"I was planning to go with the snow tyres because it was the safest option, but I saw that Séb was going for slicks, so I quickly changed at the last minute before the start. It was tricky to drive in places but fun on the dry bits.
"What to say? I have no words. I could see some lines but there was a lot of ice on braking. I am sorry for that."
"The deterioration was far worse than expected in here. Quite crazy in there.:"
"We were able to fix it before that stage, but it gave up on the last 3km. We are here, but I don't know what to say. We expected a better day than yesterday but unfortunately it was worse. We knew at this early stage that we were missing a bit of development, but we had hoped for better."
"I've no issues. I definitely dropped a couple of seconds with Taka, but apart from that no issues. It was definitely slippier that time, but we're still here."
"It has been quite a big change from two days ago. Now it's starting to be a bit enjoyable in the car and it's getting better all the time, so I can be happier. In this one we should have taken studded tyres."
Off road
SS12
"I had a puncture on the front right. I am so disappointed. We will see after - I think we can get a lot of time on the next stage."
Puncture
Mechanical
"We've got to be careful with what we do, especially over the big bumps and stuff."
"It's quite tight. The battle is quite intense, but I tried to push as much as possible. I can't do much more."
"I really enjoyed this stage. There were a lot of things happening in the car and a lot of action, but it's really good fun."
"We are carrying a damper problem with us since this morning. We are trying to carry on - we can still get some good points and there is only one stage to go. But a few kilometres into the stage, the damper came through the bonnet. We are going to see if we are able to fix it."
"He was good to get out the way, so fair play to him. Pretty clumsy mistake [in SS11] where the grip was high and everything."
"I am trying to keep focussed with this smoke, so it's not so easy."
"Obviously we're just trying to make it to the end. It's a weird position to be in: okay, the speed hasn't been amazing, but we're just trying to get more comfortable on every stage. We went on used tyres to try and save our new ones for tomorrow, so I'm not surprised at the time."
suspension
"It's easier than the first pass, but some corners are more nasty with gravel coming from the inside. We were just driving safely through this stage, so it's all fine."
"Of course, when I am feeling a bit more comfortable in the car I can drive faster. This one is a really nice stage - it's the best stage of the rally for me, it's so nice."
SS11
"It's not easy to drive with two studs and two slicks. It's not easy to keep the car straight. I tried to push, but Ogier was much faster."
"It's never easy to go through this stage. It's just about surviving, but we are here. Unfortunately Elfyn is out on the corner - it's a shame for the team."
"I think it would have been the best [tyre choice] without the problem. I was driving 75% all the way.
"We had a lot of smoke in the car all day and I basically lost concentration. Somehow we got the car out again and luckily there was no damage on the car. In here we just took it very easy."
Off road
Puncture
Spin
SS10
"It's been bad all morning, but we didn't need this."
"I will continue to do my job. I don't know. It's a big surprise for me this morning after just one stage, but we will see. I think it's just an error, I'm not sure if it was the organisers or the team. It's a shame."
"It was okay. We tried to drive with an okay pace and we knew [Lefebvre] had a time penalty, so we didn't take any risks."
"I had a good stage but this kind of stage is so slippery and rough which doesn't help. It seems this morning, the stages are not for me, so we will see in the next one."
"It was not a bad stage for us. We're still struggling a bit with our super-softs, but it will be even worse for him [Loeb]."
Lost wheel
"It's working okay. This stage is so different to the rest and it's a bit of a surprise how bumpy it is. There was a section in the middle where I was maybe a bit too careful where it was narrow, but otherwise it's all okay."
We are fighting with some issues and now something has broken in the stage. The car is driving to one side and it's over."
"There are a lot of looses stones on this one and many cuts, so I was just driving through to keep four wheels on the car."
Mechanical
Mechanical
"The super-softs started to go off at the end. It's exactly like back home with all the jumps and crests and dips. It's so nice!"
"I don't know. I had a problem at the start anyway and I think that's more of an issue than the puncture."
Puncture
"I spun and stalled. It's frustrating, but it's okay. Quite stupid."
"Really nice stage - hopefully the time is good. I felt I was quite a lot better than yesterday, so hopefully the time is good."
Spin
Off road
SS9
"Everything is fine. We went at an okay pace, but it's hard to know if we should push or be careful. Let's see."
"I think we did a good tyre choice. It was more humid than expected and I had four super-softs. I hope it's a good choice and let's see what Andreas can do."
"It was more difficult today. The road is very dirty in our position and I think we pay a little bit with the super-soft tyres. There was a lot of movement and understeering and my drive was not perfect."
"I am not so happy with the car. I am fighting it a lot, especially the hybrid. I don't know, it's not so good."
"It was okay. A bit hesitant in places still, but the grip is changing all the time. Not perfect."
"It's a bit like yesterday morning, I can't drive fast. It's impossible. I get a lot of slip and understeer and then I get the radio working in the stage, so I could hear the other drivers talking."
"Since the beginning, it was like a slow puncture or something. I don't know."
Puncture
"We made some improvements to the car and I definitely feel more confident today. We'll just step it up stage by stage, but I'm definitely going in the right way."
"On a right-hander, I got too close to one of the barriers and it just touched the front. Not a great stage, I just didn't carry the speed in the right places."
"Let's say the stages are a bit more tricky compared to yesterday, so I will try to stay on the road. I was not so happy with my pace notes - they were not so accurate."
"I think it was a bit better again with the changes we have done, but it was not a good stage for me. I still struggle with the first loop and driving to the pace notes - it's a bit tricky driving a stage for the first time."
"I don't know why, and there is a lot of smoke in the car still. It's not an easy stage - I thought there was frost in many places but it's not frost so I was slowing down too much. I have no confidence at all this morning so I am just driving."
SS8
Changing puncture
"I love these tricky conditions - they are like my home conditions. I took some risks in this one and it's good to finish like this. I am happy to finish the day with this rhythm."
"It's been an okay day. Very low risk from our side and I am not really happy with the last stage. I had information in my notes that there was a lot of ice but in the end there was nothing and I braked too much in a lot of places."
"I was really surprised when I was doing the best time in the shakedown in the first pass because usually in the shakedown I am not great, but since that we tried to push to get a feeling in the car. It's not a big gap, but we are happy to be leading after the first day."
"It's a good day for experience and a good day for me and the team to learn a lot. I tried to push a bit harder in here now and it felt good, but there were some other places I backed off. I can't say I'm happy with the day, but in a way I am still happy. We know what we have to do and everybody is motivated."
"I think, from what I've heard, my [stage win] celebration made it to TV. On this one I didn't want to undo all the good work, especially with the temperature dropping. I was far too cautious but we can go again tomorrow."
"I am getting comfortable and understanding how the car behaves and works. There are still some hybrid things I am not sure how to use the best way, but it's been a good day for me."
"The biggest progress has been the consistencies. It's running quite okay. In some stages the grip is very high and we don't have the tools to improve, but we are still running so that's positive."
"It has not been a good day. In the afternoon we were improving the car all the time and I could start to trust the car a bit and drive better. Let's see what we can do tomorrow - I will try to improve my driving also."
"The hybrid system was working again. Again, some changes - I think we are going to struggle to get there this weekend. I am on the limit of what we can do with what we have, but I am on the maximum now. There's not much we can do, we have to fight for it."
"I'm surprised to lose quite that much. We were probably too careful on the hairpins here towards the end, but I didn't expect to lose that much. It's been okay - a bit up and down - but it's frustrating to finish like this to be honest."
"This morning we were a little bit on the safe side. This afternoon I pushed but we can not go much faster - we are missing some stability with the car and some traction. At the moment it's not possible to go faster, but we can be happy with our afternoon loop."
SS7
"My run was really good, but I had no hybrid. For sure we lost a lot of time, but we are pushing as hard as possible."
"It's getting better. We don't have a gearbox issue now, but there's still a bit of smoke in the car. The second loop is always easier, but we need to find a better pace in the first loop."
"I doubt [Séb Loeb] will be on his phone, but I would send him a text and say 'can I have this one?'. It's hard to put into words how good the car is. Now I'm going to go sit in a corner and cry with anxiety..."
"I made some mistakes that I need to improve, but for sure it's going in the right direction and I need to continue like that."
"The set-up changes that we did before are helping quite a lot for me. Now we will just try to continue the same way."
"I had an EV error, so I couldn't get any extra power. I still managed quite well in this stage - I made some set-up changes and for the confidence it's better."
"Just didn't feel so fantastic. In the slippy places I didn't feel good."
"I think we can not do any more at the moment. We are struggling with traction coming out of some hairpins, but I am doing the best I can with what I have."
SS6
"I am feeling really well in the car, so I know that I am on the limit. It was a perfect stage. At the moment everything is going well, so we will try to continue like that."
"It's a bit better, but I am not pushing. I am trying some new electric stuff and everything to learn a little bit."
"I was a bit disappointed that we lost so much time with the hybrid in the last stage, but the feeling is still really good. We'll have a bit of a fight."
"All okay. It's a relatively dry stage and I enjoyed it, the balance is nice. Like I've been saying, there's a hell of a lot more to come."
"A good run, so no worries. Everything is okay."
"We did a small change in the regroup, but of course it's easier on the second pass when you know the roads a bit better. There's still a long way to go and I can't do much more than that at this point."
"It was definitely more enjoyable. When you don't have the balance you need and you don't know the road, it's tricky to drive. We have a lot of understeer, especially in the faster sections, and in the bumpy [parts] I can't get the line. I can't commit in there."
"It was only flapping occasionally, so it's not the end of the world. It's quite a lot drier, but in the last part coming down the hill it's still exceptionally slippy."
"We pushed, but it's not easy. I tried my best in the stage."
SS5
Spin
Puncture
"We had a clean stage - no dramas for us. We tried to be clever in there and keep a good pace, so I think we did a good job. If you want to win this rally then you have to drive fast in these conditions, so that comes with a little bit of a risk."
Accident. damaged suspension
"I was pushing really hard all morning and the car is great. I have a very good feeling with this car, so I continue to push. It was tricky with the ice, but my gravel crew made a very good job so I tried to push from the beginning to the end."
"It was very difficult. I have no confidence at all - I am crying of tears at the start because all the smoke is going into your eyes. I'm just driving - I don't really care about the times any more because I have nothing to fight for."
"[The hybrid] wasn't working in the stage, so we'll have a look now."
"I'm discovering Monte Carlo conditions again after a few years. It was very middle of the road, just trying not to make mistakes. Okay, our pace hasn't been amazing, but we have to be quite happy."
"Honestly, I am still not so comfortable yet, but it's coming step by step. These were very tricky conditions and for us it was changing a lot. I just believed by gravel crew and they did a great job."
"The things are working a bit more consistently now. It's a bit more fun and for sure we are learning all the time. Today's it's not so bad."
"The conditions were quite tricky. We had proper ice and frost on the stage and with the slicks it's quite difficult. I was quite careful, so we have some work to do on the pace notes with how we mark the ice and stuff."
"No risk at all in this stage. We had a lot of ice in our notes, but the sun made it quite tricky. I just tried to understand the car to see where we can find the speed, because it's not so obvious."
"That's more like it, but it was very difficult and slippery in places. We were a bit wide in one hairpin and got caught out a bit by the brakes and we picked up a slow puncture, but it's okay."
"It's tricky and there is a lot of frost and a bit of black ice. The road will get faster now. Quite a difficult loop for us, but we will try again this afternoon."
SS4
"I am feeling well with the car. I tried to push hard in these two stages but it’s quite tricky. In some places you have a lot of grip but in others you have nothing. The car is feeling good and we are going to push."
"You see all the smoke in the car?! I am crying before the stage and I can't breathe on the stage! I lost full focus in the stage and then I had no gear shift at the end. I am just here to finish and get experience, and I'm trying as good as I can. It's how it is."
Spin
"Everything’s good. In just a few places I was making some mistakes, it wasn't a very good stage. I could have had a lot more pace than that, so we'll be better next time."
"Honestly, the potential is just bursting out of this thing. I was a little too cautious and I got it completely wrong. It's very encouraging because I feel like I'm at 60% of where we need to be and we can improve lots and lots."
"No drama. I drove very clean with no mistakes. I did not push, but on this kind of rally, no mistakes is a lot better."
"The hybrid is working at the moment, so it was a bit better."
"We are learning all the time how to drive it. After yesterday we did some set-up changes and it's better for me, so let's see what we can do."
"Nothing has changed. We made a few set-up changes which worked better, but it's scary. Chassis-wise, I have a lot of surprises and we need to improve that."
"It's still changing all the time. It's tricky out there and it didn't feel so good in here to be honest, but it's okay."
"It's really quite slippery. There are a lot of hairpins near the end with very low traction to drive. I am on the safe side at the moment with these conditions."
SS3
"I describe it as quite a tricky stage. It was much more wet and humid and even a bit icier than we had in the recce. The downhill is very fast and it was a bit surprising in some corners."
"We have smoke in the car and it's misting up the screen. It's not easy - easy I didn't have the confidence so I just took it very easy."
"Average. There is so much potential in this car, you really have no idea. I just don't have the confidence to stick my neck out everywhere. There's a lot of time left to come."
"More power for sure, but I didn't expect it to be so slippery in that corner. I tried a 360, but there was no space so I could not do it."
"The drive was not so bad, but after second corner the hybrid was in error."
"Yesterday was really hard for us, so we're just trying to improve for that."
Spin
"Not better than yesterday to be honest, it's a nightmare. I have never been so scared while driving. There's a lot of work left."
"Really changeable. In some places there's really good grip, but in others not so much. It's very difficult to judge the grip in there."
"It's tricky to judge the grip in this one. It's very changeable. It's a bit of a compromise tyre-choice wise today, but let's see."
hit a barriers
hit a barriers
Spin
SS2
"I was trying to be clean in the uphill sections, but on the downhills I pushed a bit more. The brakes are better, so it was a normal stage."
"It was a little bit easier I think, but the feeling is very strange. We will see tomorrow - I think we need to work on the settings tonight."
"Tomorrow we will try to be a little bit quicker. We struggled a little bit with oversteer but we can sort it very easily. It was quite a clean evening, so we're ready for tomorrow."
"Beautiful stage - really nice conditions. I tried to increase the speed a bit for this one, but there's still more to come. It's nice to get through these stages and let's go tomorrow."
"We enjoyed it. It was very hard for the tyres, so I overheated my tyres before the middle of the stage and then I struggled to keep the car in position. We did a good stage."
"It was not so good. It was more slippery than I thought and I had a spin. It doesn't matter, I can't hear my co-driver anyway..."
"I was enjoying so much. The car was just amazing - the power you get in the downhill is just something special. I lost the tyres a bit in the stage, but I am happy to have done this good night. Tomorrow we have the confidence now, so it's good."
Stopped
"We've been waiting two years for this car! I did the run on shakedown today and I said to Jonas, I absolutely love this car. I think in the first stage [the tyre choice] worked, but maybe four softs would've been better in there."
"It's the first time I've been up there in five years, and I really struggled. I was trusting the notes and just having to drive like it was my first pass, but we got through it and the car feels good."
Spin
"It was better. I tried to be smooth without any drama, but it's not good. "
"Quite a difficult start. From the start we had some engine issues and on this one we lost some hydraulics. Anyway, it's a big list. At least we are here."
"I think the balance of the car is really tricky for me to drive. I tried to do my best to adapt for it, but if the balance is a bit more to the understeering in side then it's quite difficult for me."
"The brakes were a little bit better. It's a bit more bumpy and I had no trust in the car, so I had to keep it neat and tidy."
"It was not so smooth everywhere. I am pushing on pretty hard, but it's just so hard to get used to it."
"It's a little bit better in there. Maybe the time will be not good, but I don't know. We are just trying little things in the car and we are happy to be through."
SS1
"We've got a gearbox problem - we're stuck in third gear. Hopefully we can fix it before the next stage, but we dropped loads of time."
"Very enjoyable first stage. There were a few small hiccups, but I'm quite happy, and the car felt great. The feeling is okay and it's a good pace to start."
gearbox issue
"We had a good start, but it was really tricky on the top with some wet and icy parts. I didn't want to make a mistake on the ice, so I was a bit too careful there. It feels really good - a lot of power and the feeling with this car is great."
"I can't hear him! It's too loud from everything else. It's very annoying and I couldn't hear him in many places - I had to brake and go again so I lost the rhythm."
"It was really difficult to drive because we had a lot of frost. It was difficult to know if the grip was there or not, so I was quite careful. It's not too bad."
"It felt really good, but in the second half I struggled to find a rhythm. Let's see what the two Sébs do - they look pretty quick!"
"Amazing! Everybody that’s been involved in this - you've done an amazing job! It was a very average stage from myself and I don't expect that I'll be very high in the standings because the other guys will be pushing as well."
"We have problems. I don't know..."
Mechanical
"It's quite tricky in the beginning, and we had a small spin at the start of the stage so we lost a bit of time. Anyway, losing a lot of time there. In the damp I was maybe a bit too careful in the conditions."
"It was difficult. I couldn't go fast and I lost the brakes and the tyres quite early in the stage. It's all a bit of a gamble because we only have 20 soft tyres for the weekend. We knew that today we would have to compromise, so hopefully it works out for the weekend."
Spin
"It was a really bad run. I didn't have a very good feeling at all."
"It didn't feel so great in that stage, but we are through. It's never easy - there was a lot of humidity and some frost in some places."