Belgian star Thierry Neuville and Adrien Fourmaux will continue as Hyundai’s full-season drivers, as expected. To replace Ott Tänak, the team has chosen no fewer than three part-time drivers who will share the third car.
As strong insider reports had already suggested, Esapekka Lappi and Dani Sordo will return to the World Rally Championship and Hyundai’s WRC squad. The big surprise was the selection of Hayden Paddon as the third part-time driver.
Finnish driver Lappi represented Hyundai in 2023 and 2024, taking his second career WRC victory in last year’s Rally Sweden.
Lappi, 34, parted ways with Hyundai after last year’s Rally Chile and moved to the Finnish Rally Championship. This year he clinched the Finnish title and had stated earlier that he was not aiming to return to the WRC. However, Hyundai managed to persuade him to come back to the sport’s top level as a part-time driver. Enni Mälkönen will be his co-driver in 2026.
Sordo, 42, contested three WRC rounds last year in Hyundai’s third Rally1 car and claimed two podiums. This year the Spanish veteran won the Portuguese Rally Championship in Hyundai’s Rally2 car. The experienced Cándido Carrera will continue as his co-driver next season.
New Zealander Paddon, 38, last competed full-time in the WRC’s top class in 2018 with Hyundai. He has one WRC victory to his name from Rally Argentina in 2016.
Paddon won the European Rally Championship titles in 2023 and 2024 in Hyundai’s Rally2 car. Remaining loyal to Hyundai, he also celebrated the Australian Rally Championship crown this year.
“We’re delighted to confirm our line-up for the 2026 FIA WRC season, which will see Thierry and Adrien compete in every round with a trio of very experienced and competitive crews sharing our third entry. Bringing in Dani, EP and Hayden enables us to call upon their individual strengths to support our manufacturers’ title ambitions next year,” Hyundai’s sporting director Andrew Wheatley said.
“We had a difficult decision to make – whether to opt for experience and consistency, or bring in a rising star and nurture them. However, we are in the last year of the Rally1 technical regulations and we believe the right path is to bring in drivers with knowledge of the car and the team,” Wheatley underlined.
Paddon and co-driver John Kennard will drive Hyundai’s third car at the 2026 season-opening Rally Monte Carlo in January. Lappi will take over for the second round in February at Rally Sweden, while Sordo’s first event of the season will be the asphalt-based Rally Islas Canarias in April.
