Cyril Abiteboul has seen radical change in Formula 1, so what does he reckon WRC needs next?
Photography by Hyundai
Words by Luke Barry & David Evans
More than most, Cyril Abiteboul knows what’s needed in this situation.
He sat through some very similar conversations when a new promoter walked through the door in his old world as managing director of Renault’s Formula 1 team, almost a decade earlier.
Today, as Hyundai Motorsport president and team principal, the Frenchman has outlined to DirtFish what he believes the next promoter of the World Rally Championship should strive for to prevent rallying from “progressively shrinking”.
First on the agenda? Be clear and assertive.
Abiteboul told DirtFish: “What I want to see is a very, very simple priority. You know, I always remember that first meeting we had with Liberty [Media] – they came up with three things and one action.
“Three priorities were digital, US and China. And one action, new logo. So I can tell you, everyone was sort of dead laughing. This is that, this is it, the plan. This is the master plan. They bought the sport for 8 billion at the time. We have a new logo and we are going to do digital.
“So what I mean by that is that no matter how simple and streamlined the plan can be, I’ve seen that it can be all about getting everyone to understand the plan, the simplicity of the plan, the apparent simplicity of the plan, but the execution behind it. So, simple plan, very strong execution, which means… you know, execution is all about people and money, as always.
“So we also want, at some point, to see that. I mean, what would be the change agents of that very simple plan, but the plan does not necessarily need to be very sophisticated. It can be in three words.”
Next on the agenda? Establish a more streamlined working practice and a smoother working relationship with the FIA.
Abiteboul continued: “[As a sport] we don’t do lots [of promotion]. Having said that, it’s not an easy job neither, because I’ve been part of discussions where the promoter rightly or wrongly wanted to test some new ideas. And, you know, there is also a major sense of conservatism in the world of rally.
“Frankly, if Liberty had had to ask every single race organizer or team or tire manufacturer or whatever each time they wanted to bring something new to Formula 1, you’d still be at Bernie [Ecclestone]’s age.
“So that’s what Formula 1 is great about. It’s so much more progressive because the governance is streamlined and there is a constructive dialogue, which is not always perfectly aligned. But there’s a positive relationship between FIA and promoter.
“Here, an alignment between FIA and the promoter is almost the start of a discussion with the organizers. And maybe they are also useful gatekeepers for the purity of the sport, which also means that we have a sport that is progressively shrinking.”
Action is of course important, but Abiteboul also stressed that taking time over the right priorities is no problem – citing Formula 1’s target to conquer America as an example.
“You need the right cars, you need the right sports, you need to sort of repackage a little bit. So it’s all about the right timing,” Abiteboul said. “Should we be in America? Yes, with the right product. So let’s work on the product first and go to America.
“Or you do the other way around. Because that’s true that also Liberty said, ‘OK, we want to go to the US’ and they sort of engineered the product afterwards, making the US a priority. And I think it’s just now that it’s all sort of falling into the right place with Cadillac, with a number of races.
Abiteboul believes there is too much conservatism in rallying
“That’s almost 10 years later. That is from 2016 to 2026 that actually the sport will be properly, you know, structured for US. And now Apple TV is making this huge bid on the TV rights. But you see that that takes 10 years or so. So we also need to accept that things take time. But you want to start with a simple plan.”
The decision on the next WRC promoter is expected to be made when the FIA World Motor Sport Council meets in December.
FIA deputy president sport Malcolm Wilson told DirtFish he’s “very confident” in WRC’s future.
“It’s given me another tremendous boost, to be honest, to think that there was so much interest from various parties,” Wilson said. “We’re certainly narrowing it down now, so hopefully in the not too distant future… in an ideal world we want to try and get everything sorted this year, so we start with a new promoter from January next year.
“So all I would say at the moment is I’m very, very encouraged and for me it’s very positive for the sport.”
Words:Luke Barry
Tags: Cyril Abiteboul, Malcolm Wilson, WRC, WRC Promoter
Publish Date October 31, 2025 DirtFish
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