The trick with rallying is not knowing when to go fast, it’s knowing when to go slow!
The very best, absolutely world class rally drivers have a “sixth sense”, a combination of skill, experience, and being able to process multiple sources of information, simultaneously when under duress!
Having been lucky enough to sit next to some of the world best rally drivers whilst developing WRC cars for Prodrive, it’s uncanny at how they somehow preempt changes in grip before they occur.
Block is a good driver, and has good physical car control skills, but he’s completely “visual” in his driving. World class rally drivers use much more than just their eyes to drive absolutely at the limit of grip (what ever speed that requires) on unfamiliar and changing surfaces.
In rallying, if you wait till you’ve seen a hazard it’s too late and combined with the constant temptation to over drive the car to make up time or deficits in the cars performance itself, it’s oh so easy to carry a small amount of excess speed with predictable consequences!