WRC
What do Sébastien Ogier and Mark Webber have in common? They’re both multiple Monaco winners.
Mark Webber triumphed twice at the Monaco Grand Prix, in 2010 and 2012, and Sébastien Ogier has won Rallye Monte-Carlo for the last four years running – and he’s aiming to make it five this weekend. If he does make it five Monte wins in a row, that'll be a new record as well.
So he and ‘Webbo’ had plenty to talk about when they caught up with each other just outside Monaco’s famous casino, before the event got underway on Thursday night.
As a circuit and street racer, Mark Webber is impressed by the versatility and superior touch of rally drivers. “Rally drivers have to work within a much wider operating window than we do: our range is a lot narrower,” he explained. “So I really admire what these guys do, on ice and snow and through trees and whatever.”
The Australian will have a chance to witness it up close and personal this weekend while covering the race for Red Bull TV. But one thing he won’t be doing is hitching a lift in order to see exactly how it works from the inside.
“I’m the world’s worst passenger,” he admits cheerfully. “Even just being driven around the streets. So I don’t think that sitting inside a rally car is for me.”
As for Ogier, he’d be a bit keener on a job swap. At the FIA prize-giving last year, after Nico Rosberg dropped the retirement bombshell, Ogier was among the first to offer his services to Mercedes boss Toto Wolff.
“Maybe I wouldn’t like to be a Formula One driver, but I’d certainly like to try it, as I like to try all sorts of different cars,” said Ogier.
And that’s very true: he aimed to test all the World Rally Cars before making his decision about which one to drive, but only Ford and Toyota were operating a try-before-you-buy policy.
“Yes, this year is going to be a bit complicated because I don’t have much time in the car, but there was also a real possibility that I could be staying at home,” said Ogier, who faced the prospect of officially joining Webber as a driver in retirement after his Volkswagen team pulled out.
“But then I had this possibility with M-Sport and I saw that it was a nice challenge. This will be a really difficult rally, I know, but to take five wins here in Monaco would be something incredibly special…”
To see Mark Webber’s full interview with Sebastien Ogier, visit Red Bull TVfrom 10pm CET / 9pm UTC on Friday, when the first programme will drop.
