Before lining up for the World championship’s traditional season opener, Thierry Neuville was troubled by the fact that even if he won the Monte Carlo Rally for a second time, he might not necessarily complete round one with the most points, such were the anomalies thrown up by the new-for-2024 scoring system.
Efforts by the FIA to curb slow Sunday morning driving – previously the go-to strategy for saving cars and tyres for Powerstage pushes – had led to a new, albeit largely unpopular, rule change, with a set of points being handed out at the completion of Saturday’s action followed by another allocation for Sunday’s classification.
As such, a situation could arise whereby a driver with a comfortable lead at the end of Saturday could still win the rally by maintaining their advantage through to the end, although an iffy Sunday would mean fewer leg points and potentially no Powerstage points. Meanwhile, should a driver fail to see the rally through to its conclusion they would leave empty handed with their points after Saturday reallocated to the next best competitor.
Neuville, starting his 11th season as a
