Thierry Neuville and Adrien Fourmaux will continue with the team as expected next season, but Ott Tänak’s decision to retire left Hyundai with a major dilemma. It needed someone to drive the team’s third car next year.
Hyundai had two different plans for the third driver. Either the team would select a young driver to develop, or it would rely on experience. As the technical regulations of the World Rally Championship will change for the 2027 season, the choice ultimately fell on the latter option.
Hyundai team principal Cyril Abiteboul called Esapekka Lappi and managed to entice him to join. Dani Sordo also returns to the team after a one-year break. The biggest surprise, however, was that Hayden Paddon was also invited back to the World Rally Championship.
“I’m very excited to be back with Hyundai Motorsport, eight years after our last event together in the FIA WRC,” Paddon enthused in Hyundai’s press release.
Paddon has spent recent years successfully competing in Australia and New Zealand, celebrating several titles in local rally championships. Most crucial from Hyundai’s perspective, however, is that Paddon has remained loyal to the manufacturer and holds strong market value in Oceania and Asia.
“Hyundai is a brand I’m very proud of and loyal to after 12 years, and to now be stepping into a Rally1 car is very exciting,” Paddon said.
Next season, the task of Lappi, Sordo and Paddon is to help Hyundai return to the manufacturers’ title after a long break.
“Our expectations are clear: to do the best job we can to support Hyundai, Thierry and Adrien in their respective championships, and making sure collecting as many manufacturers’ points as possible at the end of the weekend,” Paddon said.
Paddon, 38, also feels he has changed over the years. Now he has more experience, which could well enable strong results in the World Rally Championship as well.
“I feel I am a very different driver compared to eight years ago, and the experience I have gained all around the world in different championships puts me in a good place to put that experience to use,” he explained.
Dani Sordo returns to Hyundai after only a one-year break. This year he competed in the Portuguese Championship with his co-driver Cándido Carrera and won the series title.
“Cándido and I had a strong season in the Hyundai i20 N Rally2, culminating in the Portuguese title, which was a fantastic achievement for us,” Sordo said.
“We can’t wait to take this momentum into next year , and I am confident we will be a competitive package . I’m looking forward to working with the team again , and supporting Thierry and Adrien in the championship fight,” Sordo concluded.
