McRae: Leading, but not liking it…

"Just because I'm leading doesn't mean I like it," he told Autosport.com at service after SS4.

A fastest time on SS4, combined with the retirement of erstwhile leader Didier Auriol, put the Scot at the head of the field, but he remains realistic over his prospects on the rest of the event.

"It's early days and I'm not about to get carried away," said McRae. "The conditions are pretty sh***y, but it's not about backing off or driving at fifty per cent of your natural pace - it's just about making sure you're concentrating one hundred percent on not making any mistakes."

Snow, ice and wet tarmac mean tyre choice can be a lottery, and as Peugeot's mass exit has demonstrated, the 'Monte' can bite at any moment.

All three Pug 206 WRCs retired before the fourth stage, but McRae has little sympathy for the French team's plight, having never won the event himself but tasted bad luck in many forms.

"Yeah, it's bad news for them," he said, "but that's the Monte Carlo Rally."