Ogier says he never eyed VW exit

The Frenchman re-signed with VW on the eve of the Rally of Spain, where he clinched his second successive WRC title.

Ogier denied he had been in negotiation with other teams, despite speculation linking him to a Citroen return and a Hyundai seat.

"It was a really simple decision for me," said Ogier. "There was never another option in my mind.

"Every rumour you have seen was just a rumour. Why should I talk to any other teams?"

Ogier and Volkswagen Motorsport director Jost Capito would not be drawn on the length of contract, beyond admitting the deal was for "more than one year".

VW's WRC plans after 2016 are currently unclear.

The team has an unchanged line-up for 2015, with Jari-Matti Latvala and Andreas Mikkelsen staying on alongside Ogier.

AUTOSPORT understands that Latvala and Mikkelsen already had existing contracts in place, whereas Ogier was negotiating a fresh deal.

Ogier's title bid faltered slightly after an accident in Germany and mechanical problems in France.

He recently admitted that the wranglings over the WRC's future format had distracted him, and said the Rally Germany crash had been "a wake-up call".

"I realised there was danger," he said. "I couldn't lose what I had been working on from the beginning of the season.

"It would have been stupid to lose it like that. It proved that when you are not at 100 per cent, you don't do things properly.

"But I reacted well. And that's the most important thing: that I reacted.

"It was not easy to come back, I had to work on myself.

"It was not an easy moment, but I made it."