Hyundai has expressed concerns over the performance of next year’s World Rally Championship non-hybrid powered Rally1 cars and is asking the FIA to reconsider changes to the air restrictor.
The FIA confirmed last week that hybrid power will be dropped from the WRC’s top tier Rally1 cars in 2025 in a move triggered by a rise in costs to service and repair the control 100kW Compact Dynamics hybrid unit.
The removal of the hybrid kit (weighing in at 87kg) will coincide with changes to the minimum weight of Rally1 cars, which will decrease from 1260kg to 1180kg. The FIA has also decided to reduce the car’s air restrictor from 36mm to 35mm to maintain the current power-to-weight ratio.
Hyundai has tested its i20 N Rally1 without the hybrid unit while running the 2024 specification air restrictor on its engine with Thierry Neuville at the wheel at Rally La Nucia-Mediterraneo in Spain. Hyundai was able to compare the performance of the 2025-spec car against its current 2024 model, driven by Andreas Mikkelsen, at the asphalt event.
Neuville fears the 2025 Rally1 cars will be “quite a bit slower” on asphalt next year and believes keeping the current air restrictor would be a better option.
“I have been driving the car without hybrid and obviously without the extra weight and I was running with the standard restrictor from this year and that felt pretty good,” Neuville told Motorsport.com.
“We did some qualifying runs with Andreas at a rally and I was two tenths faster, so the times were really close. That's why I'm a bit concerned with the next year that the cars will be quite a bit slower.
“I have informed the FIA. I don’t think they will consider anything I have said which is quite frustrating, but at least the message has been passed.
“Obviously, we take away 80kg, which would be nice in some of the corners, but we lose 130 horsepower, which on gravel I don't know how it will be, but on tarmac for sure the additional power was very helpful.”
Hyundai team principal Cyril Abiteboul admitted he isn’t overly enthusiastic about losing hybrid power but understands why the decision had to be taken to help safeguard the current level of competition on financial grounds.
However, the Frenchman also feels the FIA should re-examine the move to reduce the air restrictor on the cars to ensure a continuation of the current Rally1 spectacle.
“I'm not so enthusiastic about the prospect of losing this hybrid. But as I said on many occasions, we also have to be pragmatic about the situation of the sport, in terms of supplier capacity, product reliability and control,” Abiteboul told Motorsport.com
“We are going to push the FIA to re-examine their plans on power. We would like to keep the same restrictor and we think it is a big loss, so I think it is something that we need to reconsider with the FIA.
“I understand the safety concern. But I think that the car can cope with it, so we need to be careful not to lose what is something happening in the sport right now, which is the outright power of these cars. So I would invite the FIA to reconsider those things, but positively again we want to work in collaboration with the FIA on that.”
How Hyundai’s rivals have reacted to the loss of hybrid power
The removal of hybrid power next year has produced a mixed reaction from WRC drivers in general.
Toyota’s Elfyn Evans feels that the reduction in weight is a “good compromise” for the loss of hybrid, while eight-time world champion team-mate Sebastien Ogier is confident Toyota’s simulations have shown that there will be a minimal loss in overall performance.
“I think we did [want the power], but I think like the reduction in weight is a decent compromise. Obviously, I haven't driven the car yet, so it's hard to really judge, but I still think it could be OK,” said Evans.
Ogier added: “Changing like this last minute, without being really able to have a lot of homologation jokers to change the car, it's far from ideal for sure.
“I think if Hyundai does that [pushes to keep the current air restrictor] they clearly see maybe an advantage for them doing that.
“I think from what I heard from our simulation that with 80kg less we shouldn't lose real performance much, so I think it would be pretty close, but I don't know.”
M-Sport-Ford’s Adrien Fourmaux believes the Rally1 car will still be fun to drive next year but admitted he would have preferred the FIA to see out the current homologation cycle with hybrid-powered cars.
“For me, it's a shame because for me it was good to finish with it until the end of the [current] era,” he said. “It's like removing one cylinder. It is done so now we have to deal with it. For sure, we will drive the car and have fun and it will be will lighter.”
