2014: one year to learn win!
Round 1 – Marrakech
I felt really proud to be part of this team and this is a weekend I will remember forever. Race 1 was difficult, but the second one was harder. I was lucky enough to avoid the accident at the start. I was then able to move into second without taking any risks.
Round 2 – Circuit Paul Ricard
Even when you start from pole, winning is never easy. You can’t imagine how thrilled I am to have won a race after starting from 18th on the grid! Of course, the safety car helped me to make up ground on Tiago, but sometimes you need a bit of luck to win.
Round 3 – Hungaroring
Yvan was just better on this track. But after three meetings, I was still leading the championship and that was better than I had hoped for before the season began!
Round 4 – Slovakia Ring
I didn’t get a good start. It was a weakness for me for the first half-season, and I had to work hard to improve. With Yvan P10, this second place was a good result. It was impossible to drive in those conditions, and I had to back off because of aquaplaning.
Round 5 – Salzburgring
We chose an aggressive aerodynamic setup for race 2. Tom Chilton had an even worse start than I did, and I was able to overtake him. But the race was stopped because of a crash involving Yvan. After the restart, I managed to move past my opponents. My Citroën C-Elysée WTCC was exceptional with that setup: it just kept picking up speed on straights!
Round 6 – Moscow Raceway
Even after starting from pole position, I didn’t feel comfortable, as I knew that the Hondas would make a strong start. Once again, I didn’t get away brilliantly, but I managed to cling on to the lead. I then attacked hard to pull away. It’s always satisfying to win a race like that, when you are rewarded for a good performance.
Round 7 – Spa-Francorchamps
In race 2, I was involved in a real scrap with Hugo Valente over the first few corners. Then I did a lot of overtaking at the Bus Stop, and I must say that all my competitors were very sporting. It was an incredible win for me!
Round 8 – Termas de Río Hondo
Some people may find it a bit too corporate to start by thanking everyone, but that’s just what I was feeling at the end of this day. My wealth of experience on this circuit helped me a lot, but I was still worried about the starts. Thankfully, this time, everything went OK! Race 2 was really exciting. The car just got quicker and quicker and I managed to work my way up the field into first place.
Round 9 – Beijing
For the team as a whole, this weekend has been more difficult than the others. The other teams had been working really hard and the performance gap was closer than ever. For me, everything was going in the right direction as I extended my lead again.
Round 10 – Shanghai
This was a very important weekend for me and I must say I was more nervous than usual. It was fantastic to secure the Manufacturers’ title with Citroën Racing. I believe that motor racing is a team sport, even if the drivers tend to get most of the glory. It wasn’t easy to win this seventh race, because Ma Qing Hua was always behind me, pushing.
Round 11 – Suzuka
Of course, an amazing feeling. It was really special to win on one of Ayrton Senna’s favourite circuits. He won two titles here and I was proud to have done the same. It was also an honour to emulate Juan Manuel Fangio as an Argentinian World Champion. It’s thanks to him that our country is so mad about motorsport.
Round 12 – Macau
What more could I ask for? Winning in Macau is special. It was the ideal way to round off what I consider to be the best season of my career. The car was perfect in the races and I was able to find a good pace. I attacked right to the end to avoid any mistakes. In 2015, we’ll be starting again from scratch. I won’t be the outsider anymore, but rest assured, I’ll be defending my title!
1
Qualifying
1
Race 1
2
Race 2
DSQ
Qualifying
4
Race 1
1
Race 2
2
Qualifying
2
Race 1
6
Race 2
1
Qualifying
2
Race 1
Cancelled
Race 2
5
Qualifying
3
Race 1
1
Race 2
1
Qualifying
1
Race 1
DNF
Race 2
3
Qualifying
2
Race 1
1
Race 2
1
Qualifying
1
Race 1
1
Race 2
4
Qualifying
3
Race 1
4
Race 2
1
Qualifying
1
Race 1
3
Race 2
1
Qualifying
1
Race 1
6
Race 2
1
Qualifying
1
Race 1
5
Race 2
Points evolution
- Pechito
- Muller
- Loeb
- Pechito
- Muller
- Loeb