Former F1 team boss with one hand on the trophy as historic title double nears
Cyril Abiteboul left Renault at the end of 2020 and now heads the Hyundai WRC team
Former Renault F1 team boss Cyril Abiteboul has taken a giant leap towards securing a historic title double for the Hyundai WRC team after Thierry Neuville took victory at the Acropolis Rally Greece.
Abiteboul spent six years as the managing director of the Renault (now Alpine) F1 team from 2014 before leaving the Enstone-based outfit at the end of 2020.
Former Renault F1 boss Cyril Abiteboul on the verge of WRC title double
The Frenchman famously bet with Daniel Ricciardo that Renault would not register a podium finish during the 2020 season, with Abiteboul getting a tattoo on his leg as a forfeit after Ricciardo finished third at the Nurburgring and Imola.
Abiteboul was appointed the team principal of Hyundai’s World Rally Championship operation at the start of 2023.
Despite registering two victories with Neuville in his first season in charge, Abiteboul and Hyundai were unable to stop rivals Toyota from storming to a Drivers’ and Manufacturers’ double with Finnish superstar Kalle Rovanpera at the wheel.
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With Rovanpera switching to a part-time program this season, however, and eight-time World Champion team-mate Sebastien Ogier also opting against competing at every event, Hyundai and Neuville have emerged as the combination to beat in 2024.
And team and driver took a huge leap towards a historic double by overcoming one of the most challenging rallies of the season to take victory in Greece.
Victory vibes! #WRC | #AcropolisRally pic.twitter.com/AnGNYG3hoJ
— FIA World Rally Championship (@OfficialWRC) September 8, 2024
Neuville’s victory was made even sweeter after Ogier, his closest threat in the Drivers’ Championship arriving in Greece, rolled his Toyota on the final stage of the rally while running in second place.
The Frenchman was able to get going – albeit with a heavily damaged car – and limit the damage to his title hopes, with the WRC’s revised points system for 2024 seeing most points awarded at the conclusion of Saturday’s stages before the so-called Super Sunday running, culminating in the Power Stage where bonus points are handed out.
Neuville now leads Ogier by 34 points in the Drivers’ standings ahead of the final three events of the season in Chile, Central Europe and Japan, with Hyundai also extending their lead in the Manufacturers’ race.
Ogier rolled on the #WolfPowerStage and lost second place! #WRC | #AcropolisRally pic.twitter.com/Aq7SaIdCmh
— FIA World Rally Championship (@OfficialWRC) September 8, 2024
Hyundai were crowned Manufacturers’ Champions in 2019 and 2020, but have not won the Drivers’ title since entering the elite level of rallying in 2014 with Neuville finishing as runner up for four seasons in succession between 2016 and 2019.
The Belgian also finished second in the championship in 2013 while representing the Ford-backed M-Sport team.
Last month, former Renault driver Nico Hulkenberg lifted the lid on his resentment towards Abiteboul, whom he accused of favouring Ricciardo following the Australian’s arrival from Red Bull in 2019.
Hulkenberg left Renault at the end of that season, spending three years out of F1 before returning with Haas at the start of 2023.
No love lost between Nico Hulkenberg and his former Renault boss Cyril Abiteboul pic.twitter.com/8BSMwg83Dt
— PlanetF1 (@Planet_F1) August 13, 2024
He will join Sauber for F1 2025, having become the first Audi F1 driver signing in April ahead of the German manufacturer’s highly anticipated F1 entry in 2026.
Hulkenberg told GP Racing: “In itself, it wasn’t difficult to be [Ricciardo’s] team-mate.
“But I think during that period things happened within the team that, particularly with the management, were not very positive for me.
“When you recruit a great driver, you have to convince the management and pay a high price.
“But then the performance of the car is not up to what it should be, or what was promised to the management, and the pressure increases.
“In addition, there were some strategic decisions that ended up going wrong for me.”
Referring to Abiteboul, he added: “It’s funny that, five years later, he’s no longer here [in F1].
“I left too, but I came back and I’m still here. That means something.”
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