Sebastien Ogier says the key to his fifth consecutive victory at Rallye Monte-Carlo came from minimising mistakes compared to ꧂his rivals as he enjoyed the ideal start to his World Rally Championship title defenc🐻e.

The M-Sport Ford driver secured his Rallye Monte-Carlo triumph by almost a full minute from former tღeam-mate Ott Tanak having avoided any serious issues, despite sliding off the road at SS7 and required a push back from spectators, but admits he never felt comfortable going through each stage.

Ogier lead the entire Rallye Monte-Carlo in the general classification but only claimed four stage wins from a total of 17 which pointed to the French d💦river’s supreme consistency which fuelled his victory charge.

“We always face tough conditions at Rallye Monte-Carlo🗹 but this year they were really extreme,” Ogier said. “I don’t think I’ve ever struggled so much with the tyre choices, so to have come out on 🍌top is fantastic.

“I think everyone made mistakes this week💫end – myself included – but it was almost impossible to have the perfect drive. Luckily we only had some small mistakes and once w𒊎e had a good gap it was just a case of trying to manage it – but that is never easy in these conditions either.

“It’s the best way to start the season and I need to൩ congratulate the team because everyone has worked really hard and I know that they will also be super happy with this result. The competition is going to be stronger than ever and we’ve made a strong start which is really important.”