'I did it all in F1, WRC is next biggest challenge', says Hyundai boss Cyril Abiteboul

The chance to work with a manufacturer making waves in the industry, and building a legacy for both its road cars and motorsport activities, also appeals. “It is a brand that I have a lot of admiration for, the way they are building leadership on technology electrification, their design,” effuses Abiteboul.

“I am so respectful for what is going on in Korea,” he adds, comparing the general industrial direction of the country, not just Hyundai, to the West Coast of America during the development of the internet and then arrival of giants like Amazon, Google and Apple.

The differences between F1 and WRC

So, what are the similarities between operating in F1 and the WRC? He admits: “The list is much shorter than the list of differences. It is very, very different and I think to a certain degree they should not be compared. At the end of the day, it’s motor sport, and it’s racing cars. But every single thing is different.”

This extends from the way a weekend of competition plays out, through to the development of the cars. For example, whereas F1 sees constant development race by race, in rallying, updates are limited and can only be introduced in the form of ‘jokers’, which can only be brought into play at specific points in the season. This requires a very strategic approach, and finding the right timing when bringing new parts can have a major impact of competitive form through the year.

But, says Abiteboul, the leadership requirements for a team principal are exactly the same as in F1. “You are building organisations that are driven by performance, which are driven by results. It is very satisfying when you’re managing a group of people, which is only looking in one direction, which is the direction of performance and success.”

One area Abiteboul does hope to bring his F1 experience to bear is optimising the driver-engineer relationship. “I’m trying to build a bit of what I’ve seen in Formula 1, which is great at [building] exchanges between engineers and drivers.”

In rallying, probably even more so than F1, this communication is vital. Teams are relatively data blind, there is no live telemetry and the rules limit the number of sensors permitted on the cars. This places an onus on drivers being able to feed back how the cars feel in a way that each teams’ engineers can act upon. Of course, every outfit also uses modelling and simulation tools to inform setups, but with ‘feel’ so imperative to driver confidence and thus speed on stages, there is a limit to what these tools can achieve.

In an effort to improve this process within Hyundai, Abiteboul says that, for Sweden, he has implemented a standard checklist of topics to be addressed in driver-engineer debriefs. The target is to answer the question. “How do you build a group around the drivers to make sure that they’ve got the best platform on which to build performance. I’m trying to bring that to the rally world.”

Keep your enemies close

Rallying is considered to be a somewhat less cutthroat environment that the F1 piranha club. Two rallies into his new job, has Abiteboul found this to be the case? “I’ve been welcomed by the different team principals and the team. So I think it was generally positive, but you know, it’s still a competition. Everyone wants to win.”

He points out that not having cars battling together seems to instil a more cooperative mindset. “I guess, maybe we are also up against the environment. So it’s a bit different. The cars are not racing against each other, they are racing against lap time. You’re not directly opposed, I think that’s helping, but I need to see that in action properly.” He says, caveating his positivity with the observation. “I understand that there are also games being played.”

The jump from F1 to rally may be a culture shock for Cyril Abiteboul, but the pressure is unlikely to be any less intense. Hyundai expects world championship wins and the current i20 looks to be a platform with which to achieve that success. It will be down to the new boss to ensure it delivers and that his team structure is able to bring those last fractions of performance, pulling it ahead of the Toyota juggernaut.