Jari-Matti Latvala has talked of the pressure he felt at Volkswagen last year and how his failure to match the achievements of team-mate Sebastien Ogier prompted a drastic change of approach that ultimately backfired.

Now driving for Toyota, a resurgent Latvala leads the drivers standings after victory at the last round in Sweden.

But in an interview with Becs Williams for the new episode of the Regroup podcast, the Finn reveals that just a few months ago he had lost his motivation and confidence after another season in Ogier's shadow.

Having finished the championship behind Ogier in 2013, 2014 and 2015, Latvala began 2016 determined to claim the title for himself.
 
"I thought now is the year to try and win it," he said. "But I had two bad races in the beginning, then with the win in Mexico I started to get in a good direction, and then there were a couple of retirements again. In a team with such a great driver like Sebastien by Spring I already realized that it was gone - I couldn't win the championship any more. I knew how strong he was.

"I had finished second and third [to him] in the championship. Then it hit me and I started to lose the motivation. That was it. I couldn't see anything more than single wins and that wasn't what I wanted. I wanted a championship, it was three years that Seb had won it. I should not have let it happen but it did."

Latvala tried a radical approach with the set-up of his Polo R in an effort to emulate his rival's success.
 
"Being in the same car, I thought I will do the exactly the same set-up as Seb. If we drive the same car, it will be only about the driving," he explained.

"But every driver has little differences to their style and set-up. So in trying to drive like Sébastien, trying to brake the same way, I went away from my own identity and my own style. After four months I had dropped even more. I just couldn't do it the same way.

"The only way for me is to drive the way I have learned and am confident with - not to try to copy what anybody else is doing. Even the world champion."

Latvala talks more about his time at Volkswagen in the Regroup podcast, as well as his fresh start at Toyota and his hopes for the upcoming round in Mexico.

Citroen Racing boss Yves Matton has acknowledged that improvements need to be made and has pledged to work 'even harder' after his squad's lacklustre start to the 2017 WRC season.

Citroen took a year out of WRC competition in 2016 to prepare for a comeback with an all-new C3 World Rally Car and a driver line-up led by Kris Meeke [above].

But there has been little to celebrate at the opening rounds in Monte Carlo and Sweden after which Citroën is placed last in the manufacturers' standings while Meeke lies 14th in the drivers' championship.

Having retired from Rallye Monte-Carlo, a frustrated Meeke struggled to match the pace of his rivals in Sweden, especially on repeated stages. He was in fifth place on day two before an off-road excursion sent him plunging down the standings to his eventual finishing position of 12th.

"We are all very aware of what we need to do to improve and be competitive. We are going to work even harder in preparation for the upcoming events," Matton said.

"We clearly still have work to do to make the most of our car's potential in certain conditions. On this surface we were fast on the first pass on the stages [but] we still need to work out why our drivers were less comfortable on the second runs."

Matton expects that the gravel roads of Guanajuato Rally Mexico [will suit Meeke better than the unique mix of ice and loose snow that was a feature of the championship's only winter round.

"Kris had a few difficulties feeling entirely at ease in the car on the variety of road surfaces faced," he explained. 

"In these conditions, it's not easy to develop your confidence. There's a good chance the situation will be different in Mexico, where the road surface is more consistent throughout the rally."

Mexico city’s famous Zocalo square will now host two speed tests to kick off next month’s Rally Guanajuato Mexico (9 - 12 March).

Organisers of the WRC’s opening gravel round of 2017 have added a second pass of the 1.57km special stage in the city centre square, a location perhaps best-known for the dramatic helicopter fight in the opening scene of James Bond movie Spectre.

They expect a massive crowd to pack the square in the world’s fifth-largest city for one of the biggest occasions in WRC history, and teams have supported the plan to double the fun at the Thursday evening asphalt stage.

“We wanted to make a bigger and better show in Mexico City for the fans and for live television,” explained rally director Patrick Suberville.

“It seemed a shame to make the huge effort to go all the way to Mexico City from León to have the cars run just once. The city gave us a timeframe for the square, we looked at it and thought let’s have two stages instead of one. It’s better entertainment for everyone.”

Suberville said the response to the plan to have World Rally Cars competing in the square, more accustomed to receiving foreign heads of state and hosting national celebrations, had been incredible.

“We’re delighted to have been invited there by the authorities in Mexico City. The country is so passionate about motorsport. Formula 1 has been in the square and WEC has been in the square, but WRC is the first to have cars actually competing there. We’re very proud,” he said.

Non-priority drivers will tackle both stages before the WRC 2 entries complete the tests. Leading Mexican drivers Benito Guerra and Ricardo Triviño will drive them next before the headline World Rally Car drivers.

Cars will be transported by road to and from Mexico City on Thursday for the stages. Crews and teams will fly to and from the capital.

Amid the surprise of Jari-Matti Latvala’s rally Sweden victory last weekend, Ott Tanak delivered further evidence that his maiden WRC win could be just around the corner.

The Estonian could not match Latvala’s pace during their final day shootout on the snow and ice roads, but a hat-trick of fastest times on Saturday morning thrust the 29-year-old Ford Fiesta driver into victory contention for the second time in two rallies.

He has now finished on the podium three times in the last four rounds, a run that began with second place in Britain last year and continued with third at Rallye Monte-Carlo last month.

Tanak is in his third stint with M-Sport, having twice been dropped by team manager Malcolm Wilson. Having played a major role in the development of the new-era Fiesta, he knows the car well and has formed a strong early season partnership with Sébastien Ogier.

“It’s been a great start to the season and I have a really good feeling with the car,” he said. “We’ve got a great package to build on and, although there is still some work to do behind the scenes, we’re ready to give it another big push in Mexico next month.”

Tänak had plenty to learn, running near the front of the start order in the opening leg for the first time after his Monte-Carlo podium.

“I had a new experience opening the road on Friday but when the conditions were more equal on Saturday we had some really good speed. I’m happy with that and what we achieved last weekend has given us a lot of confidence.

“On Sunday, we knew straight away that Jari-Matti would be hard to beat. At the beginning of the first stage we knew we didn’t have the same feeling as on Saturday.

“It was a bit disappointing at the time, knowing that we had no option but to settle for second, but I’m still really happy with my weekend,” added Tanak, who has helped M-Sport build a 20-point lead in the manufacturers’ championship.