Evans said that meant “maybe a few more risks at some moments”, pinpointing last year’s Monte Carlo Rally and Rally Islas Canarias in particular.
“Yeah, Monte, we were not so far,” he added. “And also, yeah, Canary Islands, it was a little close at some moments, but it is what it is. He still did three rallies less, so that’s not an advantage at the end of the day.
“It’s just to be aware that the situation can change during the year. I guess it’s a lesson that every point always counts.”
Having said that, Evans believes Chile and Japan were the true turning points in the title battle.
“We finished the season pretty strong in a way,” he said. “What was missing, I guess, two key events… even though the performance was not bad on them, when you look at Japan and Chile, we were fighting with Séb all the way to the end, and if we had been able to do a bit more and won those rallies, then that would have had a massive change and swing in the outcome.
“But it didn’t happen, so it’s like that. There’s many moments you can pick in the season – you can say like Portugal and Sardinia, we were pathetically slow. That side, definitely, it’s the area to really focus on, because that’s clearly the part where the performance was not the same as everywhere else.”