Hyundai’s WRC team is searching for the optimal setup—but Thierry Neuville still sees great potential in the 2025 i20 N Rally1.
Reigning World Rally Champion Thierry Neuville is convinced that Hyundai’s revamped WRC car for the 2025 season has significantly more potential than last year’s model – even though the team has so far struggled to exploit the full performance of the new i20 N Rally1.
After the Chile Rally, Neuville expressed concern about the gap to Toyota. The Hyundai team had tried several setup variations there, but was unable to find the optimal configuration to bring the maximum speed of the 2025 car to the track.
It had already become apparent in the spring that the new car did not work right away. Hyundai was unable to keep up with Toyota on its asphalt debut in the Canary Islands in April, after relying on the 2024 specification at the season opener in Monte Carlo.
Tests provide “interesting insights”
After the Chile rally, teammate Adrien Fourmaux suggested conducting a direct comparison test between the 2024 and 2025 models to find out which vehicle is actually faster ahead of the upcoming Central Europe Rally.
Since the Chile race, Hyundai has been working intensively to better understand the characteristics of the new car and find the optimal setup.
Neuville used the East Belgian Rally and a subsequent test day to prepare, while Fourmaux most recently competed in the European Rally Championship round in Croatia and will compete in the Autumn Rally in Austria this coming weekend. Ott Tänak has also completed more test kilometers in the new i20 N. Neuville was optimistic after his outing in Belgium:
The additional test kilometers had provided “interesting insights” that could help the team move forward.
What makes Neuville confident and what doesn’t
“For me, the 2025 car has significantly more potential than the 2024 car. I think we just haven’t gotten the best out of the car so far,” Neuville explained. “We know there are still areas where we can improve, and we have identified these weak points. Hopefully, we can fix them soon.”
The Belgian emphasized that the optimal working window of the new car has changed compared to its predecessor. “Maybe we haven’t hit that window perfectly yet, at least on the last asphalt run. But I think we are now working in a more targeted manner. There is room for improvement in the setup and in the areas where the car performs best. We still need a little more driving time, but we now know where we need to start.”
Looking ahead to the upcoming Rally Central Europe, which he won in 2023, Neuville remains cautious about expectations. “I don’t think we know exactly where we stand compared to Toyota yet. We’ll only see that after the first stages,” said the 21-time WRC winner. “The result will depend heavily on the weather, and our starting position is not ideal. If it rains, that certainly won’t help us.”
Hyundai is thus facing a crucial phase of development. While the competition from Japan is consistently strong, the team from Alzenau is looking for the key to finally unlocking the potential of the new i20 N Rally1 – a goal that Neuville has firmly in his sights.
