Fourmaux’s presence is a direct response to that. The Frenchman was an actual star of 2024 for M-Sport, and can contest all 14 rounds for Hyundai – marking a transparent shift in technique for the crew which has been famed for utilizing part-time drivers. On the time of writing, Hyundai has made no touch upon whether or not it might implement any all year long.
That might be key in its chess recreation with Toyota.
On this author’s opinion, Hyundai’s suite of full-time drivers is marginally stronger than Toyota’s. Rovanperä wants no introduction and Elfyn Evans is a serial factors scorer, however Takamoto Katsuta in all probability has extra weaknesses to handle than Fourmaux.
Nevertheless Toyota isn’t simply working three vehicles in 2024. It’s working 4. Typically – like this week in Monte Carlo – it’s working 5.
World champion Thierry Neuville is conscious of the risk this poses to his Hyundai crew.
“I imply, it’s very arduous to know what’s the precise transfer [in terms of full or part-time drivers], however I feel that we’ve got a powerful drivers’ line-up and with three full-time drivers, we’ve got good probabilities to convey residence good outcomes and robust factors,” Neuville instructed DirtFish.
“However now preventing in opposition to 4 to 5 Toyotas will probably be a further problem. So let’s see. I imply, there will probably be a little bit of technique as properly in some unspecified time in the future from their aspect, as a result of they’ll.
“For our aspect, we may have much less technique as a result of, mainly, we will’t.”
