How Ogier's Citroen dream died

Talking to Sebastien Ogier on Sunday night after Rally Germany, the anger had gone. It was worse than anger. It was disappointment.

Maybe with a sense of missed opportunity?

No. Just disappointment.

There's no doubt the reunification of two potent French rally forces - two French world champions - had the chance to make a great story through 2019.

That dream's turned into a nightmare and, not for the first time, Citroen's line of communication has been fairly... forthright. Sebastien Loeb and Kris Meeke have both been on the wrong end of a waspish line from Versailles. Now, it seems, it's Ogier's turn.

I'm slightly taken aback at the apparent naivety on show from Citroen.

From minute one of day one, since the moment Ogier first met then Citroen team principal Olivier Quesnel, right up to the moment when he gleefully pointed out that "justice had been done" after team-mate Loeb got a puncture during a shocking and explosive Rally Germany in 2011, he has never hidden his competitiveness.

It's everything to him. It's not that he's a bad loser, it's just that he hates not being in a position to win.

Eight years on and the Saarland region reverberated to yet more Citroen controversy as Ogier realised that was the position he was in.

The C3 WRC was nowhere. Ogier had been trounced on a rally he once ruled. Disappointed.

Ogier won't be drawn on the precise timescale of his journey towards a Citroen exit, but team principal Pierre Budar has confessed to Autosport that the first meeting on this subject was that Sunday night.

Sources at the time confirmed an action plan had been drawn up with development detailed on the car and how it would work to keep Ogier in the seat for the remainder of his two-year deal.

Quite simply, that development took too long.

The aero developments were coming for 2019, but it looks like Ogier just ran out of patience. He lost faith

In an exclusive interview with Autosport, Ogier said: "One of the main things which drove this decision was the rhythm of development on the car and the speed the car was progressing, which was not [fast] enough."

I remember talking to Ogier towards the end of 2018, when he was clearly closing on a decision to switch from M-Sport to Citroen.

"I'm not the one to jump out of the boat if it's not going in the right direction," he said at the time.

He is, however, first overboard if the boat's not going fast enough. And Citroen's was a slow boat this year.

But it was getting faster, of that there can be no doubt. The aero developments were coming for next year, along with other updates, but it looks like Ogier just ran out of patience. He lost faith.

Ogier's not motivated by money. He's has worked hard for what he has and he understands where he stands in the WRC's fiscal pecking order. His move to Citroen was undoubtedly driven by the fact that Malcolm Wilson's wallet had been emptied over the previous two years.

But look what Ogier delivered for M-Sport through 2017-18: three World Rally Championship titles - two drivers' and one teams' - in two years. There's tremendous value in that.

From the very top, PSA CEO Carlos Tavares implemented a policy of getting more out of what you've got. Ultimately, Citroen didn't have enough

And that's what Ogier took to Citroen. Together, they could have made magic.

As the second half of the year unfolded it's become increasingly obvious that the list and the reportedly pre-agreed timetable was falling behind.

Ogier arrived in Wales without suspension parts that the team had hoped to have homologated. It was the same story in Spain. He looked exasperated. Resigned.

When the powersteering failed and dropped him from the lead on Friday morning in Salou, he no longer looked angry. Or exasperated. Or resigned.

He looked disappointed.

I was fortunate enough to be with Ogier when he said goodbye to the folk at M-Sport and his departure was genuinely heartfelt. The sadness and emotion on the factory floor at Dovenby Hall was palpable. That was never going to be the case at Citroen. It certainly won't be now.

Ogier's time alongside Wilson showed a different side to him. Volkswagen had hardened him into a more corporate being, but Cumbria reminded him of the value of having a 'family' around him. He loved that. Loved his time at M-Sport.

But the chance to end his story where he started it and the chance to win a title with a third different manufacturer - while maintaining his own salary expectations - excited him.

But the thing that excited him more than anything was what it always was: winning.

And when that chance - at least in his eyes - has gone, then it's time to move on.

For many, this Citroen chapter was doomed to fail. It's hard to imagine a driver in the current generation more demanding of perfection from a team, and those on the inside accepted from the start that this deal was hamstrung by budget constraints and development difficulties.

From the very top, PSA CEO Carlos Tavares had long implemented a policy of getting more out of what you've got. Ultimately, Citroen just didn't have enough.

And that's why Ogier will be wearing a white shirt, not a red one, when he is unveiled as a Toyota driver on Monday.