Estonian laziness rolls up its sleeves. The choice of words didn’t leave it unclear, Is the man interested in fighting for tough places.
Ott Tänak switched to M-Sport for this season. PDO
Ott Tänak puts pressure on the neck of his employer M-Sport. According to the Estonian, he is not interested in chasing places like others.
Tänak expected a move to a team driving Fords to give him the chance to fight for the World Rally Championship.
The Mexican rally that took place over the weekend raised concerns in the Estonian. Known for his directness, Tänak did not say anything irrevocable yet, but the message to M-Sport became clear. The team has to shake things up, or Tänak will be unhappy.
Tänak, who drove to victory in Sweden, lost the game in Mexico right at the beginning of the rally. The turbo problem dropped the Estonian more than ten minutes away from the lead.
Tänak finished ninth in the end. Even though it was pointless for Tänak to put everything on the line in Mexico after the technical problems, he was worried about his own pace.
– I can’t drive this car the way I want to. The car doesn’t behave as I hope, Tänak stated to Dirtfish.
In an interview with the rally website, Tänak did not agree to explain in more detail what is wrong with the car’s behavior.
– We seem to be a bad match for each other at the moment. I can’t drive the car in a way that is typical for me, and because of that I can’t get the result done with it. We’ll see how things develop. In the hands of some others, the car seems competitive, Tänak states.
Along with Tänak, the only driver who has celebrated a race win with the current Ford Puma is the rally god Sebastien Loeb. He was also number one more than a year ago in Monte Carlo, so the car is not suitable for just anyone.
“I’m not hanging in there”
Tänak is still in a good position in the World Cup battle. But are there enough rides in Ford? EPA / AOP
In Mexico, Tänak increased his points pot by six. The top spot in the World Series changed to fourth place, but Tänak is still in excellent positions.
Keeping up with Toyota and Hyundai will not be an easy task. The development work of major car manufacturers grinds the result, but Tänak revealed to the Dirtfish website that M-Sport’s updates are still waiting for themselves.
– We haven’t done any development work yet. We’ll see when new parts start appearing.
Even today, nobody in the rally world can deny the talent. But when the man left Hyundai in the middle of the contract period, where he moved to Toyota in stormy signs, one cannot help but ask the question what Tänak really wants.
He gave Dirtfish an answer to that question regarding M-Sport. From the team’s point of view, it is worrying to hear.
– I’m not going to hang in there just to drive for fifth place. I expect our team to develop, Tänak downloads.