The divisive WRC newcomer stoking a tactics storm

What on earth did folk in the World Rally Championship talk about while Michel Nandan sat behind the desk in the team principal's office at Hyundai Motorsport? Nothing, apparently, apart from tyre pressures, ramp angles and which driver might - or might not - have had a hair transplant.

But now Andrea Adamo's driving the most powerful motorsport desk in Alzenau, Germany, he's become the sole topic of conversation.

Certainly, it felt that way in Portugal last week, once Sebastien Ogier had levelled the accusation that on the final day Adamo had told Dani Sordo to pull over and allow Thierry Neuville to go by, affording Neuville a dust-free, four-minute gap while the others choked with just two minutes between cars. The plan, apparently, was for Sordo to then pull back onto the road before Kris Meeke came along.

It all sounds rather sinister. And, you'd have to say, a little far-fetched.

And I'd go with far-fetched were it not for Adamo's immediate track record in the WRC.

He has left nobody in any doubt where his priority lies. It lies in the message he'll deliver when he makes the inevitable end-of-season trip to Seoul to report to the Hyundai Motor Corporation about its return on an investment that measures in many millions.

That meeting is at the forefront of his mind at every turn. It's a composite part of every decision he makes and takes. And every decision is entirely his. Adamo has established a real hold and genuine control over the Hyundai squad. If details on the front differential the team homologated in time for Portugal are needed, he will explain them. Engineers don't give official lines any more.

I don't like that. Adamo is an intelligent, articulate and charismatic chap, but sometimes it's nice to have a different voice and one which can give you the low down on every nut and every bolt. I might not like it, but I understand it. While some see this as Adamo seeking to create his own empire in the spotlight, I see it as somebody trying to shelter his team and create an environment where they focus on delivering a world title.

Adamo's expansive answers have also put some backs up. He talks, but he talks well. An analogy using donkeys and racehorses was particularly memorable. Donkeys are worthwhile and will get you there, but why would you expect a donkey to get you there as quickly as a racehorse just because they look the same.

But when the talking stops, Adamo is not a man to shy away from the big calls.

Some people pontificated about it being crazy to have Loeb or Sordo potentially sitting on the bench while a below-par Andreas Mikkelsen took an i20 Coupe WRC to Corsica. Mikkelsen's team pointed to a contract that stipulated every round where he would drive. Adamo pointed to that end of the season discussion with everybody's bosses and showed the Norwegian the door out of the car for France and Portugal.

Back at Rally Sweden in 2018, Ogier and M-Sport absolutely did not break the rules, they played them

Adamo is quick to praise the hard work and dedication of his team, but he's similarly swift to accept what he would see as baggage from the previous regime. It's quite possible he sees Mikkelsen's contract in such a way. It's abundantly clear he has no truck with such matters. If he sees a way to make things better, he'll take it. And if you get in the way, more fool you.

"I understand I'm not always going to be the most popular guy," he said at the start of the season. "But I don't care for that. I care for getting the job done."

He's stood by that stall since setting it out in January. But the question is, would that stall include what Ogier has suggested?

In Portugal, Sordo and Loeb were sacrificed in the blink of an eye after they had been ruled out of the battle for a top 10 position on just the opening day. A fuel-related problem was the cause of their positioning, but the speed with which the initial tactics - checking in late and running between Ogier and Neuville on the road on Saturday and Sunday - were deployed raised more than the odd eyebrow in the service park.

I'm not sure why that was queried given the universally single-minded nature of Adamo's approach. And, by the way, there's nothing new in such methodology.

Going back to the start of the Torsby stage on the final day of Rally Sweden last year, Ogier was waiting at the arrival control for the powerstage. And he waited, and waited. In fact, he and Julien Ingrassia waited for 25 minutes, accepted 4m10s in penalties and then nosed their Ford Fiesta WRC into the control in a far superior position on the road than the one the sporting regulations dictated they should take up.

But they absolutely did not break the rules. They played them.

It's probably worth clarifying exactly what this whole, 'checking in early' thing means. Any rally is run to a timetable - or itinerary - comprising a start, finish and a whole bunch of controls through which the competing cars must pass. There's a set amount of time to go from one control to the next and arrival in one control triggers the precise minute a driver must arrive into the next one.

Arriving late at a control results in a 10-second penalty for every minute late. Arriving early at a control results in a minute-for-minute penalty. The thinking behind this is that early arrival is a mistake from the co-driver, but late arrival could be due to the team working to fix a broken car or a whole raft of other issues.

Last Sunday morning, Loeb was scheduled to arrive at the first stage at 08:22; Sordo at 08:20. They both went in at 08:31, collecting 1m30s (nine minutes late at 10s/minute) and 1m50s (11 minutes late at 10s/minute) for Loeb and Sordo respectively. Neuville checked in bang on time at 08:32.

This meant that instead of Sordo starting SS16 third on the road and Loeb fourth - positions that would sweep the road clean for everybody, including Ogier - Loeb actually started the stage two minutes behind Ogier at 08:37 with Sordo at 08:39 and Neuville at 08:41. So, Ogier missed the benefit of two cars cleaning the road for him, but Neuville enjoyed that.

There is no regulation prohibiting that, and, as Neuville said on Sunday, his team did nothing forbidden. Hyundai broke no rules. But there are plenty in the WRC lobbying to remove the sort of tactics used last weekend.

Why? Leave them where they are. They provide another talking point, offer a different slant and an alternative way to win. And, for sure, among the frontrunners, things will be balanced out across the spread of the season.

Ogier's reluctance to thoroughly castigate Hyundai was born out of the fact he would have demanded Citroen do precisely the same thing.

But, again, would Adamo do what Ogier suggested when it came to using the positioning of Hyundai's other cars to give Neuville favourable conditions in the dust on Sunday morning? The truth is, I don't know.

The overwhelming question about all this is one of where to draw the line

Adamo said he had nothing to say to such "low level accusations". He then added he had no problem looking himself in the eye each morning. "The truth," he says regularly, "sets you free."

But what are we dealing with, if anything? Did Adamo ask Sordo to do something? Tell Sordo to do something? Discuss an idea with Sordo? We're working entirely in the hypothetical here, but if the deed had been done, where would we be now had Sordo pulled over, let Neuville through and then come back on ahead of Meeke, from a regulatory perspective?

That's a tricky one as the WRC's sporting regulations have no ability to deal with such a move. The FIA's International Sporting Code and a potential breach of good conduct via point 2.6.4h could be looked at. If that's not deep, nose around in Appendix B, there's more potential there. But as with much of the law, what we're talking about is interpretation; the spirit versus the letter.

Speaking to a significant number of current and past WRC competitors over the last few days, the overwhelming question about all this is one of where to draw the line.

Shuffling the order is acceptable partly because it's not illegal and partly because that neutralisation process in the control means you are not directly impacting another competitor. But as soon as you start the stage, those actions can potentially have a direct impact on the progress of others.

Imagine Sordo did stop for Neuville on SS16 last Sunday. The Belgian's i20 flies by and leaves a cloud of thick dust. So when does Sordo pull back out onto the road? He can't do it immediately. After 45 seconds to a minute, there's probably some breathing space in the dust, so away he goes. He's quickly up to speed, but Meeke's coming at full tilt and is now, in all likelihood, faced with a gap of less than a minute.

Taking this scenario to the extreme, what if Meeke then goes off in the dust and injures himself or those watching at the side of the road?

But all of that didn't happen. If it had, those involved should have felt the full weight of the FIA's judicial process.

It didn't happen, but that won't stop people talking about it. And it certainly hasn't done much to further relations between Hyundai, its rivals and the championship's stakeholders.

Returning to the person in the spotlight one final time, all things examined and considered. Adamo is absolutely right in his single-minded approach and any day-to-day disapproval would be more than offset by end of season appreciation from Hyundai's top bosses. He will draw and walk his own line.