Tanak is leaving Hyundai and moving to M-Sport Ford in 2023

Rumors that Ott Tanak could be in the Ford Puma Rally1 bucket next year have intensified in recent days as his relationship with Hyundai appears to be falling apart – particularly after the team’s decision not to allow the Estonian to take Thierry Neville this year to pursue victory Rally Acropolis.

This may also have been the last straw between the two sides, which has steadily decreased in recent months. Several times this year, the Estonian has not hesitated to accuse the team of the poor reliability of the i20 N Rally1 in the first half of the season, but also of organizational problems.

Also at the Ypres Rally he openly stated that the current team manager Julien Moncet was not the right man for the position, which was held by Andrea Adamo until last year. And then came the order from Hyundai Motorsport President Shin Kim for the team’s trio of drivers – Neville, Tanak and Danny Sordo – not to duel at the end of the Acropolis Rally in order to maintain the team’s historic first 1-2-3 in the ensure WRC .

This decision was met with dissatisfaction from Tanak, which he did not hide, as the Estonian says he should have won instead of Neville – being closer in points to Toyota’s championship leader Kale Rovanpera for – otherwise limited – hopes of victory this year’s title.

At the end of the Acropolis, when asked if he would continue driving for Hyundai next year, Tanak responded with the enigmatic “We’ll see next year,” while Monche hinted that the team was considering its driver options before 2023.

Monche, who explained that after the Ypres rally “Even if a driver has a contract, he can quit, like in football,” after the Acropolis he emphasized: “We have a contract (with Tanak) and we will talk to him about the future like we do with all our drivers. It’s normal. Of course we will announce it when our driver team for 2023 becomes official. We will View all.” Options for the year and I can’t say much more.”

Should Tanak leave Hyundai, his only viable option is a return to M-Sport – as Toyota has reportedly decided to leave its driver line-up unchanged for next year. Tanak has described a return to M-Sport as “rumours” but the truth is that Malcolm Wilson needs a driver with Tanak’s experience and skills for the new season.

The Cumbria team had Craig Breen (with whom he has a contract until 2023), Gus Greensmith and Adrien Furmaux on the full schedule this year, while Sebastien Loeb and Pierre-Louis Loubet share a fourth Puma Rally1.

Wilson, the owner of M-Sport, said that apart from Breen, the team has all other options open for 2023 drivers: “After so many years in this sport I have to say that finding a top rider is my priority. We don’t have any concrete plans for the new year yet, so everything is open.” the British recently pointed out.